Department for Transport

Driving Tests: Refugees

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the removal of non-national language voice-overs for the theory driving test on the ability of refugees to live and work in the UK.

Jesse Norman: The focus of the driving test is to help to ensure that all drivers have the knowledge, skills and understanding to use UK roads safely and responsibly. Since the language support change in 2014, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has introduced a new practical driving test and is currently working on a new driving theory test for the early 2020s. The DVSA is taking into account, as part of planning the new theory test, candidates for whom English is a second language.

Trams: West Midlands

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) what is the length of current tram networks in the West Midlands Metropolitan Area and (b) by how many miles is the tram network set to expand over the next ten years.

Jesse Norman: The current Midland Metro system is 21km long. This will be extended by 2km once the extension to Edgbaston, which is currently under construction, is open. West Midlands Combined Authority, which owns and operates the system, have plans for further extensions.

Regional Airports: Public Service Obligations

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of regional routes into Heathrow that will require a public service obligation.

Jesse Norman: There are currently only three PSO routes to London airports. The Government expects the majority of domestic routes to be delivered commercially, with incentives offered by the airport operator. Heathrow Airport has already increased the discount on airport charges for domestic passengers by 50%, to £15 and has committed to introduce a £10m Route Development Fund. The Government will hold them to account on this. To secure long-term connectivity for the nations and regions of the UK, the Aviation 2050 consultation is seeking views on reserving slots for domestic connections. If increased capacity, commercial incentives and slot reservations do not deliver on its expectations, the Government will consider the use of airport-to-airport unfunded Public Service Obligations (PSOs) to ring-fence appropriately timed slots to facilitate onward connectivity. The Government’s proposed policy on the use of PSOs is set out in more detail in the Aviation 2050 consultation.

Railways: Demonstrations

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to protect rail infrastructure from disruption by protesters.

Andrew Jones: DfT works closely with Network Rail, the British Transport Police (BTP) and other security and rail industry partners to minimise the risk of disruption to rail services. The operation of Britain’s railway infrastructure lies with Network Rail and it takes threats to, and trespass on, the railway network very seriously. When unlawful protest occurs, BTP leads in the response, investigation and prosecution of offenders. Following recent events, DfT has reminded rail operators of the need to remain vigilant and to report unusual behaviour to the police.

A34: Oxfordshire

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2019 to Question 206852 on A34: Oxfordshire, whether work has started on safety improvements for the A34.

Jesse Norman: Highways England is continuing to work on the design of the improvements with the aim of starting delivery in the 2019/20 financial year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Third Energy

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Oil and Gas Authority's December 2018 document entitled Retention Areas Agreed (Updated December 2018) 2014 Model Clauses, whether the Oil and Gas Authority assessed whether the operator required a guarantor when granting Third Energy an extension to their work commitments for licences AL006, DL005, PL079, PL080, PL081, PEDL177, PL077.

Claire Perry: The OGA carries out financial assessments, as part of which a Parent Company Guarantee may be required, for all companies when there is a licence transaction to consider, specifically when considering licence award, licence assignment, changes of control, drilling consent, and field development consent. Applications for Retention Areas (such as those applied for by Third Energy) do not trigger a financial assessment. When a Licensee applies for a Retention Area within an existing Licenced Area, this allows the Licensee to undertake exploration and appraisal activities within a set time period, as set out in the related Retention Area Plan. An application for a Retention Area therefore does not create any additional risk, since the operations will have either been appropriately assessed already, or operations proposed will be financially assessed at such a point it is appropriate, for example, when applying for consent to drill.

Third Energy

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Oil and Gas Authority's (OGA) December 2018 document entitled Retention Areas Agreed (Updated December 2018) 2014 Model Clauses, whether the OGA required a guarantor for Third Energy extensions of work commitments.

Claire Perry: The OGA carries out financial assessments, as part of which a Parent Company Guarantee may be required, for all companies when there is a licence transaction to consider, specifically when considering licence award, licence assignment, changes of control, drilling consent, and field development consent. Applications for Retention Areas (such as those applied for by Third Energy) do not trigger a financial assessment. When a Licensee applies for a Retention Area within an existing Licenced Area, this allows the Licensee to undertake exploration and appraisal activities within a set time period, as set out in the related Retention Area Plan. An application for a Retention Area therefore does not create any additional risk, since the operations will have either been appropriately assessed already, or operations proposed will be financially assessed at such a point it is appropriate, for example, when applying for consent to drill.

Offshore Industry

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to support the domestic gasoline industry in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Claire Perry: This Government remains committed to supporting industry through EU exit and to leaving the European Union with a deal that works for citizens and businesses. Nevertheless we need to plan for all scenarios. The oil and gas industry is important for the UK’s economy, energy security and jobs, and BEIS engages with the sector regularly to ensure that their concerns and any evidence is fed into the Government’s no deal planning/arrangements. BEIS engagement with the upstream and downstream oil and gas sector in regard to EU-exit has included:Publishing a technical notice on 13 September 2018 that offers guidance on “Running an oil or gas business if there’s no Brexit deal.Organising an ongoing series of BEIS Oil & Gas EU Exit Sector Panels facilitating interaction among and between representatives from upstream and downstream trade associations, companies, BEIS and OGDs.Providing regular email guidance updates on GOV.UK content relevant to the sector and requests for feedback from BEIS Oil and Gas Sector contacts.Participating in bilateral interactions with trade associations and companies.

Living Wage: Moray

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many workers received an increase in wages as a result of the rise in the national living wage on 1 April 2019 in Moray constituency.

Kelly Tolhurst: Through the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW), the Government ensures that the lowest paid in our society are fairly rewarded for their work. April 2019’s increase to the NLW will see nearly 1.8 million workers in the UK receive a 4.9% pay rise. In Scotland, 128,000 workers will directly benefit from this increase in the NLW. A full-time worker on the NLW will now be more than £2,750 better off over the year compared to when it was first announced in 2015. The most recent available data relates to 2018, when there were an estimated 2,400 workers in Moray who were on the NLW or NMW.

Automation

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Office for National Statistics analysis of the occupations at highest risk of being automated.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to ensure workers whose jobs are at risk of automation are supported with training in new skills to find new work.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the article published on 25 March 2019 by the Office of National Statistics entitled Which occupations are at highest risk of being automated?, what steps she is taking to help ensure that automation does not increase (a) gender pay inequality and (b) unemployment among women.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Office for National Statistics’ estimate that jobs held by people aged 20-24 are most at risk of automation, what plans he has to ensure young people are able to access employment in the future.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Industrial Strategy sets out the Government’s vision to make the UK a global centre for AI and data innovation, alongside measures to ensure our people are equipped to capitalise on those opportunities. Many of the 1.5 million jobs identified by Office for National Statistics (ONS) will be transformed, rather than destroyed. Automation can have beneficial impacts for the existing workforce; enabling workers to upskill, achieve better-quality work and become more productive. The ONS estimate also overlooks the considerable opportunity for creation of new, highly-skilled employment opportunities. World Economic Forum estimate that robots will displace 75 million jobs globally by 2022, but create 133 million new ones. We are committed to ensure that the labour market continues to work for everyone. That is why we are improving the UK's system for training in digital skills and lifelong learning to ensure that working people have the support they need to navigate the challenge of automation to a higher-wage future. Through the Industrial Strategy we have delivered: 16 New Centres for Doctoral Training at universities across the country, delivering 1,000 new PhDs over the next 5 years;New prestigious AI fellowships to attract and retain the top AI talent, underpinned by up to £50m of funding agreed at Autumn BudgetIndustry-funding for new AI Masters places;Invested £406m in maths, digital and technical education; andCommitted £100m for the first phase of developing the National Retraining Scheme to support people vulnerable to technological change. The apprenticeships programme delivers upskilling and retraining throughout the economy. Since 2010, 45% of the apprenticeship starts have been by over-25s; two thirds of those have been at higher levels, and 84 per cent of over-25 apprentices were already working for their employer prior to starting the apprenticeship. In December 2018, the Government published the Good Work Plan​, which commits to a wide range of policy and legislative changes to ensure that workers can access fair and decent work, that both employers and workers have the clarity they need to understand their employment relationships, and that the enforcement system is fair and fit for purpose. The Government will be publishing a strategy later in the Spring that sets out its vision and action to promote gender equality and economic empowerment. Supporting working mothers and promoting increased flexible working will be core to this.

Energy: Government Assistance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support community energy projects.

Claire Perry: In the Clean Growth Strategy, I announced the creation of a Local Energy Contact Group and a Local Energy Programme. The Contact Group is made up of representatives of communities, Local Authorities and local enterprise partnerships and provides local insight for policy teams across BEIS. The Local Energy Programme has funded Local Energy Strategies in every Local Enterprise Partnership. These strategies will feed into the newly developed Local Energy Hubs, also funded by BEIS to create capacity and capability to help Local Authorities deliver low carbon energy projects at scale. I have brought the Rural Community Energy Fund into my Department to allow it to integrate better with the other work we are doing on heat and local ownership. Together with the Local Energy Programme, that will be almost £20m committed by this Government to support local and community energy in the last three years. Alongside this we have launched Prospering from the Energy Revolution, a £100m innovation fund designed to support local areas in demonstrating integrated approaches to local energy systems.In our consultation on a Smart Export Guarantee, Government sought views on our future approach and what measures might be taken to support the efforts of community organisations and education providers who want to invest in low-carbon energy installations. The consultation closed on 5 March 2019, the responses and evidence submitted are being carefully considered. Government will respond in due course. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-for-small-scale-low-carbon-generation

Self-employed

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to tackle late payments to freelancers.

Kelly Tolhurst: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2019 to Question 232031 on Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions, what the £200 million of forecast spend has been spent on in 2018-19.

Chris Skidmore: The 2018/19 £200 million budget has been targeted at supporting the early market for ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs). This includes: support for the purchase of vehicles; the installation of the necessary recharging and refuelling infrastructure; a focused R&D programme to support development of innovative technologies; a joint government - industry communications campaign; and support for local authorities to introducing a range of policies to support wider ULEV uptake in their areas.

Consumers: Protection

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will ensure that the Friends against Scams training tools and workshops operated under National Trading Standards are offered to people throughout the United Kingdom.

Kelly Tolhurst: Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect people from becoming victims of scams by empowering communities to "Take a Stand Against Scams". The team works closely with local Trading Standards Services in all areas of the UK to disseminate Friends Against Scams training into local communities. The team also works with national and local organisations that have pledged their support to the initiative across the UK. Online training and free access to materials are widely available for anyone to use across the UK on the Friends Against Scams website, and more than 200,000 ‘friends’ have been trained.

Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish its response to the consultation on updating the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Department will publish its response to the consultation in due course. This will take account of the responses received from the consultation, the views of experts from across government including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public Health England, the Food Standards Agency and the Fire Services, as well as a range of evidence from external sources such as academic papers. The Government considers the safety of consumers to be a priority, and consumers should have confidence that the products in their homes are produced to rigorous safety requirements.

Business: North West

Trudy Harrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses and entrepreneurs in (a) Copeland constituency and (b) the North West.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is committed to supporting all entrepreneurs to start and grow a business, it is a key aspect of our ambitious Industrial Strategy. We want to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, to create jobs and spread prosperity. We already provide support to businesses through the www.gov.uk website. We also offer support through our Business Support Helpline (0300 456 3565). Last year we helped c.31,500 businesses, 65% were entrepreneurs and start-ups. Businesses can also access local support through anyone of the 38 Growth Hubs across England which join up local and national business support. Details of Local Growth Hubs can be found on the following webpage: www.lepnetwork.net/growth-hubs The Start-Up Loans programme, now part of the British Business Bank (BBB), has supported nearly 61,000 entrepreneurs with loans totalling over £468m, and was extended in the autumn budget to April 2021 to enable an additional 10,000 loans to be made. BBB programmes are currently supporting £954,419 of finance for SMEs in Copeland across 23 businesses and £1,842,918,743 of finance for SMEs in the North West across 12,484 businesses (as at September 2018). As of February 2019, since the BBB-owned Start-Up Loans programme launched, 24 loans have been made, totalling £256,600 in Copeland and 7,561 loans have been made totalling £56,967,713 in the North West.

Consumer Goods: Electrical Safety

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what work the Office of Product Safety and Standards (a) is undertaking and (b) plans to undertake to protect consumers from unsafe and non-compliant electrical goods in Northern Ireland.

Kelly Tolhurst: Under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, electrical goods must be safe before they can be placed on the market in Northern Ireland, as in the rest of the UK. The Regulations place duties on manufacturers, importers and distributors of electrical equipment to ensure that where a safety issue is identified, appropriate action is taken to withdraw, recall or otherwise bring the equipment into conformity. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) operates an incident management procedure for managing consumer product safety incidents across the UK, to deliver on its wider purpose of protecting consumers and building public confidence in the product safety system. It also makes available information on recalled electrical products through its dedicated product recall website. OPSS has provided training for Environmental Health officers in Northern Ireland on product safety recalls, PAT testing and intelligence use and has also provided them with access to testing of products that are imported or manufactured in Northern Ireland. OPSS will continue to work closely with District Councils and other partners to further develop capability and capacity on product safety to ensure consumers in Northern Ireland are protected from unsafe electrical products.

Consumer Goods: Electrical Safety

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which organisations the Office for Product Safety and Standards is working with in Northern Ireland to protect consumers from unsafe and non-compliant electrical goods.

Kelly Tolhurst: Over the last year officials from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) have met with the Heads of Environmental Health Services of all District Councils in Northern Ireland, as well as representatives from Trading Standards Northern Ireland, the Border Force Delivery Group NI and are in contact with officials in the Department for the Economy. The Office is working with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute to provide training on practical product safety regulation to regulatory partners in Northern Ireland.

Self-employed

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support freelancers.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government’s December 2018 Good Work Plan sets out the vision for the future of the labour market and the ambitious plans for implementing the recommendations arising from the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. The Government has committed to legislate to improve the clarity of the employment status tests, reflecting the reality of modern working relationships. This will help to ensure that both businesses and individuals understand their rights and obligations. Employment status is a complex issue and so it is only right that we take time to consider how best to achieve change that works for all. We will bring forward detailed proposals on status in due course.

Engineering: Construction

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure major construction and engineering projects are undertaken under the auspices of relevant national agreements between the employer and the workforce including the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry.

Chris Skidmore: The Government recognises that national agreements may play a valuable role in supporting positive employee relations, working rules, wages, and terms and conditions of employment. The making of such agreements and decisions on when to utilise them, however, is a matter for the parties concerned.

Fracking

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of fracking proposals on (a) carbon emissions and (b) the UK’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Claire Perry: The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has considered whether shale gas production at a significant scale can be compatible with the UK’s carbon budgets. The CCC concluded that it can be compatible if certain conditions are met, which have been set out as three “tests"[1]. We believe that our robust regulatory regime and determination to meet our carbon budgets means UK shale development is compatible with our goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Change Act 2008 sets a domestic target of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050 (based on 1990 levels). In October 2018, following publication of the IPCC’s 1.5°C Special Report, we commissioned the CCC’s advice on the implications of the Paris Agreement for the UK’s long-term emissions reduction targets. We expect this to be published on the 2nd of May.  [1] https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/onshore-petroleum-the-compatibility-of-uk-onshore-petroleum-with-meeting-carbon-budgets/

Music: Licensing

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with music collecting societies on reducing the cost of a licence for playing music in small business premises.

Chris Skidmore: The Department’s agency, the Intellectual Property Office, has regular discussions with a range of music collecting societies. Collecting societies are private, commercial organisations and, although the Government regulates them in some respects, it plays no role in setting their licence tariffs. Businesses that are dissatisfied may have recourse to the Copyright Tribunal, an independent judicial body which adjudicates on the price and terms of copyright licences.

Electricity: Storage

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2019 to Question 133510 on Energy: Storage, when the Government plans to amend the Electricity Act 1989 to define electricity storage as a distinct subset of generation.

Claire Perry: In our 2017 Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan and 2018 Progress Update, the Government committed to amend the Electricity Act 1989 to define electricity storage as a distinct subset of generation. We will do this when parliamentary time allows. This is an important measure to improve regulatory clarity for electricity storage, and one that we will honour.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: Military Intervention

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has held with representatives of the Saudi-led coalition following reports of the bombing of a hospital in Yemen on 26 March 2019.

Mark Field: We are deeply concerned of reports of an alleged airstrike on a petrol station at a hospital facility on 26 March. UK officials have been in contact with Save the Children, who fund the hospital, about this alleged incident and have raised this matter with the Saudi-led Coalition, who have announced an investigation into this alleged incident.​

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he (a) has recently held and (b) will hold with the UN Special Envoy on implementation of the Stockholm Agreements in Yemen.

Mark Field: The Foreign Secretary last spoke to the UN Special Envoy on 26 March and is in regular contact with his US, Saudi and Emirati counterparts with regards to implementation of the Stockholm Agreement and the redeployment of military personnel. While the Government of Yemen has agreed to the UN redeployment plan, the Houthis have not yet agreed to the UN plan. It is important that neither side exploits the redeployment process. We urge all parties to co-operate with the Special Envoy and act in good faith to implement the agreements made in Stockholm, including the redeployment of military personnel.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to meet with the Yemen Quad.

Mark Field: The Foreign Secretary most recently chaired a Yemen Quad meeting on 14 February and has had regular contact with his US, Saudi and Emirati counterparts with regards to implementation of the Stockholm Agreement and the redeployment of military personnel. Although dates have not yet been fixed for a future meeting, Quad partners have expressed a desire to continue constructive dialogue and to support the UN-led political process.

Yemen: Airports

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Saudi-led coalition on re-opening Sana'a international airport in Yemen to commercial traffic.

Mark Field: Improving humanitarian and commercial access in Yemen is one of the UK’s top priorities. We have consistently called on all parties to protect civilians, improve commercial and humanitarian access for essential imports of food, fuel and medical supplies; facilitate rapid and safe access to all people in need; and safeguard major access routes and key infrastructure in Yemen, including airports, sea ports and fuel distribution sites. The re-opening of Sana’a international airport was discussed by the Yemeni parties in Stockholm, but they did not reach agreement. We encourage them to continue working closely with the UN to find a solution.

Marcus Hutchins

Peter Heaton-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether (a) Marcus Hutchins who is a constituent of the hon. Member for North Devon and awaiting trial in the US is receiving adequate consular assistance and (b) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is providing support for his family in Ilfracombe.

Sir Alan Duncan: Consular staff in the US have been providing consular assistance to Marcus Hutchins since his arrest in August 2017, in line with what the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) can offer British nationals overseas which is set out in our public guide ‘Support for British nationals abroad: A guide’. Consular staff will continue to offer support to Mr Hutchins and liaise with US local authorities to gain regular updates on his case. Consular staff have also provided assistance to Mr Hutchins’ mother since his arrest.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the UK plans next to use its penholder status to table a new humanitarian draft resolution on Yemen at the UN Security Council.

Mark Field: On Friday 21 December 2018, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to adopt Security Council Resolution 2451, a UK-led resolution to bolster the UN Yemen peace process and address the humanitarian situation in Yemen. Later on 16 January 2019, UN Security Council Resolution 2452 was unanimously agreed. It was drafted by the UK and establishes a six month UN mission to monitor and support implementation of the Hodeidah ceasefire and redeployment of forces. We encourage both parties to proactively follow through on their obligations under these Security Council Resolutions and will continue to use our role as penholder to support the UN-led political process.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he will take to ensure that perpetrators of atrocities in Yemen are held to account.

Mark Field: If any activity occurs that is suspected of being non-compliant with international humanitarian law, we will raise this with the relevant authorities and will expect them to investigate it fully and swiftly, and to take action if any wrongdoing is found to have occurred.The UK joined the consensus on the UN Human Rights Council resolution that established the Group of Eminent Experts. The Resolution mandated a group of eminent experts to examine the human rights situation in Yemen. The UK believes it is important to give the Group of Eminent Experts more time to fully examine the conflict and to ensure that their conclusions accurately reflect the conduct of all parties in future reporting. In September 2018 we supported the renewal of the existing mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts for a further year.​

Najah Ahmed Yousif

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Bahraini counterpart on the political prisoner Najah Yusuf.

Mark Field: Our Embassy in Bahrain continues to monitor the case of Najah Ahmed Yusuf and has raised her case at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian and Emirati counterparts on the airstrike on Kitaf hospital on 26 March 2019.

Mark Field: UK officials have raised this alleged incident of concern with the Saudi-led Coalition, who have announced an investigation.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of whether the airstrike on Kitaf Hostpial, Yemen on 26 March 2019 was a legitimate military operation in line with international humanitarian law.

Mark Field: We are deeply concerned of reports of an alleged airstrike on a petrol station at a hospital facility on 26 March. Our officials have been in contact with Save the Children, who fund the hospital, about this alleged incident and have raised this matter with the Saudi-led Coalition, who have announced an investigation.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will make it its policy to support an independent investigation into the airstrike on Kitaf Hosptial on 26 March 2019.

Mark Field: We are deeply concerned of reports of an alleged airstrike on a petrol station at a hospital facility on 26 March. Our officials have been in contact with Save the Children, who fund the hospital, about this alleged incident and have raised this matter with the Saudi-led Coalition, who have announced an investigation.

Libya: IRA

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the terms of reference for the role of Special representative on UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism will be announced.

Mark Field: The appointment of William Shawcross as the Special Representative on UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism forms part of the UK's commitment to supporting the victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism. The precise terms of reference are currently being developed by those Government departments with an interest, and will be announced upon the completion of this work.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to seek a ceasefire throughout Yemen.

Mark Field: A nationwide ceasefire will only have an effect on the ground if it is underpinned by a political deal between the conflict parties. A political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis. The Yemeni parties must engage constructively and in good faith to overcome obstacles and find a political solution to end the conflict.​

Brunei: Visits Abroad

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any Ministers in his Department plan to visit Brunei in the next six months.

Mark Field: There are no current plans for any Foreign Office Ministers to travel to Brunei in the next six months.

South Asia: Air Pollution

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his South Asian counterparts on the steps they are taking to reduce air pollution.

Mark Field: ​The British Government has regular wide ranging conversations on climate and environment issues with our partners in the South Asian region. We remain committed to working with governments in the region on issues that help to reduce air pollution such as urban development, clean energy and transport.The UK is among the largest global contributors of public climate finance to help countries both mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change – committing £5.8 billion from 2016 to 2020 from our Official Development Assistance budget.

Northern Ireland Office

Offensive Weapons Bill: Northern Ireland

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2019 to Question 236415, what criteria she used to inform the decision to extend the Offensive Weapons Bill which includes in it matters which are transferred to Northern Ireland Assembly to Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: It is important that we have a consistent approach to the control of corrosive substances across the UK. I therefore agreed that it was in the public interest to extend the Offensive Weapons Bill to Northern Ireland, on the condition that the provisions will not be commenced until the Northern Ireland Assembly is restored.

Health Services (Cross-border Health Care and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237070 on Health Services (Cross-border Health Care and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, if she will place a copy of the Department of Health for Northern Ireland legislative review in the Library.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237070 on Health Services (Cross-border Health Care and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, if she will publish all written records of (a) the decision made by UK Government Ministers that in the interest of legal certainty in Northern Ireland, the UK Government would take through the necessary secondary legislation at Westminster for Northern Ireland in close consultation with the Northern Ireland departments and ( b)which Ministers made that assessment.

John Penrose: I will reply as soon as possible.

Department of Health and Social Care

Primary Health Care

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England’s document, Investment and evolution: A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement the NHS Long Term Plan, published on 31 January 2019, what plans his Department has to ensure the integration of local authority-commissioned public health services within the new Primary Care Networks.

Steve Brine: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 19 March 2019.The correct answer should have been:

Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are collaborations between general practitioner (GP) practices and a range of other local providers, typically serving a population of between 30,000 and 50,000. The Network Contract Direct Enhanced Service payment for PCNs is in final development and will be published in due course. It is expected that PCNs should engage with local authorities as a key local partner in the delivery of integrated health and care services in order to support the objectives in the NHS Long Term Plan. From April October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.

Steve Brine: Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are collaborations between general practitioner (GP) practices and a range of other local providers, typically serving a population of between 30,000 and 50,000. The Network Contract Direct Enhanced Service payment for PCNs is in final development and will be published in due course. It is expected that PCNs should engage with local authorities as a key local partner in the delivery of integrated health and care services in order to support the objectives in the NHS Long Term Plan. From April October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.

Primary Health Care

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England’s document, Investment and evolution: A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement the NHS Long Term Plan, published on 31 January 2019, what plans his Department has to ensure the integration of (a) sexual and reproductive health services and (b) contraception provision within the new Primary Care Networks.

Steve Brine: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 19 March 2019.The correct answer should have been:

Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are collaborations between general practitioner (GP) practices and a range of other local providers, typically serving a population of between 30,000 and 50,000. The Network Contract Direct Enhanced Service payment for PCNs is in final development and will be published in due course. It is expected that PCNs should engage with local authorities as a key local partner in the delivery of integrated health and care services in order to support the objectives in the NHS Long Term Plan. From April October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.

Steve Brine: Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are collaborations between general practitioner (GP) practices and a range of other local providers, typically serving a population of between 30,000 and 50,000. The Network Contract Direct Enhanced Service payment for PCNs is in final development and will be published in due course. It is expected that PCNs should engage with local authorities as a key local partner in the delivery of integrated health and care services in order to support the objectives in the NHS Long Term Plan. From April October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.

Primary Health Care

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England’s document, Investment and evolution: A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement the NHS Long Term Plan, published on 31 January 2019, whether the new Network Contract DES will require Primary Care Networks to collaborate with local authorities in delivering integrated care to local populations.

Steve Brine: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 19 March 2019.The correct answer should have been:

Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are collaborations between general practitioner (GP) practices and a range of other local providers, typically serving a population of between 30,000 and 50,000. The Network Contract Direct Enhanced Service payment for PCNs is in final development and will be published in due course. It is expected that PCNs should engage with local authorities as a key local partner in the delivery of integrated health and care services in order to support the objectives in the NHS Long Term Plan. From April October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.

Steve Brine: Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are collaborations between general practitioner (GP) practices and a range of other local providers, typically serving a population of between 30,000 and 50,000. The Network Contract Direct Enhanced Service payment for PCNs is in final development and will be published in due course. It is expected that PCNs should engage with local authorities as a key local partner in the delivery of integrated health and care services in order to support the objectives in the NHS Long Term Plan. From April October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.

Primary Health Care: Females

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England’s document, Investment and evolution: A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement the NHS Long Term Plan, published 31 January 2019,  whether his Department has plans to introduce a national service specification for women’s health including a focus on (a) sexual and reproductive health and (b) contraception.

Steve Brine: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 19 March 2019.The correct answer should have been:

The recently published 2019/20 general practitioner (GP) Contract announced seven national service specifications that will be developed for the new Primary Care Networks:- Structured Medications Review and Optimisation;- Enhanced Health in Care Homes, to implement the vanguard model;- Anticipatory Care requirements for high need patients typically experiencing several long term conditions, joint with community services;- Personalised Care, to implement the NHS Comprehensive Model;- Supporting Early Cancer Diagnosis;- Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Diagnosis; and- Tackling Neighbourhood Inequalities. There are no current plans for an additional service specification on women’s health, as we would expect the health needs of all patients, including women, to be a key consideration in each of the seven service specifications. In addition, under the General Medical Services contract, GP practices must provide essential services that include the provision of appropriate ongoing treatment and care to all of their patients and onward referral where appropriate. From April October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.

Steve Brine: The recently published 2019/20 general practitioner (GP) Contract announced seven national service specifications that will be developed for the new Primary Care Networks:- Structured Medications Review and Optimisation;- Enhanced Health in Care Homes, to implement the vanguard model;- Anticipatory Care requirements for high need patients typically experiencing several long term conditions, joint with community services;- Personalised Care, to implement the NHS Comprehensive Model;- Supporting Early Cancer Diagnosis;- Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Diagnosis; and- Tackling Neighbourhood Inequalities. There are no current plans for an additional service specification on women’s health, as we would expect the health needs of all patients, including women, to be a key consideration in each of the seven service specifications. In addition, under the General Medical Services contract, GP practices must provide essential services that include the provision of appropriate ongoing treatment and care to all of their patients and onward referral where appropriate. From April October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.

Suicide: Next of Kin

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department takes to support the close relatives of suicide victims.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sterilisation

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Clinical Commissioning Groups commission vasectomy services for patients who are not in exceptional circumstances.

Seema Kennedy: This is a matter for local clinical commissioning groups, and the information requested is not held centrally by the Department or NHS England.

Pancreatic Cancer

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the survival rate of patients with pancreatic cancer.

Seema Kennedy: Later this year, the Government will begin the roll-out of new Rapid Diagnostic Centres across the country to upgrade and bring together the latest diagnostic equipment and expertise, which focus on diagnosing cancers where patients often present with non-specific symptoms, like pancreatic cancer, and may go to their general practitioner (GP) many times before being sent for tests. This is part of the NHS Long Term Plan that was published in January 2019. It sets a new ambition that, by 2028, the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 will rise from around half now to three-quarters of cancer patients. Achieving this will mean that, from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. We will build on work to raise greater awareness of symptoms of cancer, lower the threshold for referral by GPs, accelerate access to diagnosis and treatment and maximise the number of cancers that we identify through screening. This includes the use of personalised and risk stratified screening and beginning to test the family members of cancer patients where they are at increased risk of cancer.

Health Professions: Sick Leave

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS (a) doctors and (b) nurses have been signed off work due to (i) stress and (ii) other mental illness in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The data is not held centrally.

General Practitioners: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP practices (a) have a mental health specialist and (b) employ practice nurses that have received training in mental health.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pregnancy: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many midwives specialising in perinatal mental health have been trained in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hyperkalemia

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the prevalence of hyperkalaemia for patients with chronic kidney disease.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of treating hyperkalaemia in (a) Coventry South constituency and (b) the UK.

Seema Kennedy: Hyperkalaemia usually occurs in patients with renal impairment which can be acute or chronic. In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), several factors increase susceptibility to hyperkalaemia including a high dietary potassium intake relative to residual renal function. When patients with CKD have other risk factors, for example treatment with drugs that interfere with the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, the risk of hyperkalaemia is further increased. Clinical presentation of hyperkalaemia is highly variable with some patients presenting with an acute illness whilst others may be asymptomatic. Although not completely preventable, the risk of developing hyperkalaemia can be reduced. Clinical practice guidelines treatment of acute hyperkalaemia in adults, a collaboration between the Renal Association and Resuscitation Council UK that is endorsed by a range of organisations, including the College of Emergency Medicine and the Faculty of Intensive Care medicine, sets out evidence-based guidance on the management of the condition. It was developed to improve the treatment of acute hyperkalaemia and to reduce the risk of complications associated with hyperkalaemia and its treatment. The main measures in primary prevention in patients with CKD are regular blood monitoring, careful drug prescribing and dietary advice. Patient information and education may reduce the risk of inadvertent hyperkalaemia. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://renal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/hyperkalaemia-guideline-1.pdf Information regarding the annual cost to the National Health Service of treating hyperkalaemia in Coventry South and England is not available. This answer covers England only. Funding of such services in the other United Kingdom nations is a matter for the respective devolved administrations.

Prescription Drugs: Packaging

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS prescription drugs are issued in recyclable packaging.

Seema Kennedy: The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he has provided to health service organisations on responding to freedom of information requests on preparations for the UK leaving the EU.

Stephen Hammond: The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides a right of access to a wide range of information held by public sector organisations, including Government departments, public bodies, health trusts, hospitals and doctors’ surgeries. The Parliamentary and Public Accountability Agreements Protocols in place between the Department and its arm’s length bodies covers best practice for responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. This includes consulting with the Department where necessary and sets out that the Department’s FOI team will provide informal, impartial advice on relevant legislation and duties.

Emigration: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications have been received for the Government's ex gratia payment scheme for former British child migrants to date.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Emigration: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applicants to the Government's ex-gratia payment scheme for former British child migrants have received payments.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ambulance Services: Labour Turnover

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the staff turnover rate was in each Ambulance Service throughout England in each year since 2010-11.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers. The attached table shows the number of joiners and leavers for each Ambulance trust in England for each of the years specified as at 30 September and 31 December, the latest data available, in the last year, headcount. The Stability Index is the percentage of staff there at the start of the period that do not leave the specified group (in this case the specific ambulance trust) during the period in question.



PQ239991 attached table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 24.71 KB)

Pregnancy Tests

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a meta-analysis was carried out as part of the Commission on Human Medicines' Expert Working Group review into Hormone Pregnancy Tests.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pregnancy Tests

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for peer review the report of the Commission on Human Medicines Expert Working Group on Hormone Pregnancy Tests.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Prescription Drugs

Sir Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the saving to the NHS of reducing the number of prescriptions for over-the-counter medicines.

Seema Kennedy: The Department has made no such assessment. From December 2017 to March 2018, NHS England carried out a public consultation on reducing prescribing of over-the-counter medicines for minor, short-term health concerns, ‘Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: A consultation on guidance for CCGs’ which can be found at the following link: https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/over-the-counter-items-not-routinely-prescribed/ At the end of March 2018, NHS England published guidance to enable savings of up to £100 million for frontline care each year by curbing prescriptions for ‘over the counter’ medicines. The guidance does not affect prescribing of over the counter items for longer term or more complex conditions, or where minor illnesses are symptomatic or a side effect of something more serious. We are informed by NHS England that in the 12 months to January 2019, the total National Health Service spend in England on over the counter items was £449.4 million. This was a saving on total spend of £25.9 million from the corresponding figure for the 12 months to January 2018, which was £475.3 million. This saving does not account for the potential impact to the NHS from a reduced number of general practitioner appointments, for which no assessment has been made.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  If he will take steps to ensure that care staff are not paid below the National Minimum Wage for sleep-in pay.

Caroline Dinenage: Commissioners of adult social care were given market shaping duties by the Care Act 2014 and must work with providers to determine a fair rate of pay for fair work based on local market conditions. The current legal position is reflected in updated guidance published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which seeks to provide clarity to care providers, commissioners and workers.

Obesity: Children

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle childhood obesity rates.

Seema Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care (Steve Brine MP) to the hon. Member for Cardiff Central (Jo Stevens MP) on 28 February 2019 to Question 225540.

NHS: Pastoral Care

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether confidential pastoral services are provided for NHS staff.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not collect data on whether National Health Service organisations, who are responsible for helping their staff maintain and improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing, provide confidential pastoral care. Some trusts may offer local chaplaincy and/or counselling services to their staff. We are supporting the NHS in making decisions on the type of services they offer their staff including confidential pastoral care through the NHS staff health and wellbeing framework and NHS Improvement’s health and wellbeing collaborative. Both incorporate the mental health standards in ‘Thriving at Work – a review of mental health and employers’ commissioned by the Government.

NHS: Sexual Harassment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prevent sexual harassment and misconduct within the NHS.

Stephen Hammond: National Health Service organisations are responsible for dealing with sexual harassment and misconduct. In relation to harassment by members of the public or patients, NHS organisations work with their staff, their security teams, their accredited security management advisors, the Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure appropriate action is taken to prevent sexual harassment and misconduct in the first place and robust sanctions are taken against perpetrators. In relation to employees, each NHS trust has appropriate local Dignity at Work and Disciplinary policies in place to respond to issues relating to misconduct, including any type of alleged harassment. These policies are developed in partnership with staff side and reflect Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service guidance on best practice. All trusts have a duty to protect staff from harassment and are advised to ensure they adhere to the Equalities Act in regard to protected characteristics, and training in equality and diversity and the application of associated policies is mandatory in the NHS. Staff concerned would be dealt with via appropriate trust policies dealing with conduct and would be referred to professional regulatory bodies. Health care professionals are required to register with the relevant professional regulator and to meet standards for registration, and where these standards are not met the regulators can take action. The NHS nationally is providing support through our programmes to tackle bullying, harassment, violence and abuse.

NHS: Equal Pay

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to address the gender pay gap in the NHS.

Stephen Hammond: The gender pay gap in the health and social care sector, according to the Office of National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earning is 17.3%. Although this figure has reduced from the previous year, it is still a concern, particularly given that this sector employs a much higher proportion of women than men. The findings of the Gender Pay Gap in Medicine Review will have implications not only for medicine but across the wider National Health Service workforce and will closely examine the issues that make progression in medicine problematic for women. Possible interventions have already been identified that can help reduce the gender pay gap in medicine and the wider NHS including more transparency in pay, promotion and reward. The Government Equalities Office have published evidence based guidance on practical actions employers can take to close the gap, alongside help to diagnose their gaps and develop an action plan. The Department is working with the Government Equalities Office, NHS employers and arm’s length bodies to ensure the good practice is disseminated across the NHS. We expect all NHS employers to have a clear action plan to address their gender pay gap. Developments in improving the work life balance in the NHS will also contribute to a reduction in the gender pay gap in the NHS. The extension of shared parental leave to new doctors and dentists in training from 1 April is an important step towards our health service being a more flexible and responsive employer, giving greater choice of how their employees juggle the demands of work and family.

Dementia: Care Homes

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of high quality dementia care homes available in England and Wales.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of high quality dementia care homes available in North Staffordshire.

Caroline Dinenage: Commissioning social care is a matter for local authorities who are best placed to understand the needs of local people and communities, and how best to meet them. The Care Act 2014 placed duties on local authorities to shape their local markets so that there is an adequate supply of provision. This includes ensuring sufficient dementia care provision is available and that individuals have a choice of high quality services. There are 7,341 care homes in England that provide dementia care as of 1 April 2019. Of those that have a Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating, 76% are rated Good or Outstanding. There are 144 care homes in Staffordshire local authority that provide dementia care as of 1 April 2019. Of those that have a CQC rating, 59% are rated Good or Outstanding. The Green Paper, to be published at the earliest opportunity, will set out our proposals for a sustainable system in the long term and address issues related to the quality of care and variation in practice.

NHS: Pensions

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the NHS Pension Scheme and tax arrangements have had on senior consultants in the NHS.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has sought to make available to NHS Pension Scheme members all possible flexibility under Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs legislation and the current fiscal framework for public sector pension schemes. The Department has therefore recently made changes to the NHS Pension Scheme to extend the scope of the ‘Scheme Pays’ facility. The ‘Scheme Pays’ facility allows scheme members to manage tax liabilities by paying annual allowance charges from the value of their pension benefits rather than upfront. This facility has been extended to cover payment of tax charges of any amount, and those arising from the tapered annual allowance. The Department recognises that the tax implications of the annual allowance, particularly the effects of the taper, may contribute to decisions from consultants to retire early or limit their National Health Service commitments. We are also listening carefully to senior doctors and NHS employers about those concerns. The Government keeps the impact of public sector pay and pensions policies under constant review.

NHS: Drugs

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure that the serious shortage protocols safeguard individuals who suffer from a condition, such as epilepsy, in which any change in medication could pose a serious risk to their health.

Seema Kennedy: A serious shortage protocol is an additional tool to manage and mitigate medication shortages and may be used in the exceptional and rare situation when other measures have been exhausted or are likely to be ineffective. Any protocol would only be introduced if clinicians with expertise in the relevant area think it is appropriate. Pharmacists still have to use their professional discretion as to whether supplying against the protocol rather than the prescription is appropriate, or whether the patient needs to be referred back to their prescriber. As the explanatory memorandum of the amending Statutory Instrument acknowledges, protocols for therapeutic or generic equivalents will not be suitable for all medicines and patients. For example, those types of protocols would not be suitable for treatments for epilepsy or treatments requiring biological products where the medicines that are prescribed need to be prescribed by brand for clinical reasons. In these cases, patients would always be referred back to the prescriber for any decision about their treatment before any therapeutic or generic alternative is supplied.

Public Health: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of (a) trends in the level of public health funding allocated to and (b) the correlation between those allocations and the effectiveness of the provision of public health services in the London borough of Enfield in each year since 2015.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase to at least the London average the level of public health funding allocated to the London borough of Enfield.

Seema Kennedy: The allocations of grant funding for public health to the London Borough of Enfield for each year since 2015/16 are shown in the following table:YearGrant allocation (£000)2015/16£15,670*2016/17£17,708**2017/18£17,2722018/19£16,8282019/20£16,384 Notes:*Allocation reflects the transfer to local authorities (LAs) in October 2015 of funding for services for children aged 0 – 5.**Allocation reflects the full-year effect of the mid-2015/16 transfer. The grant is ring-fenced for use exclusively on public health, but within that LAs must decide their own priorities for action. LAs’ public health funding for 2020 onwards will be considered under the next spending review. We have made no specific assessment of any relationship between funding since 2015 and the effectiveness of services in Enfield. Public Health England (PHE) monitors and publishes data on trends in each LA in England for the wide range of indicators of public health set out in the Public Health Outcomes Framework. That framework can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-health-outcomes-framework In addition, the PHE ‘dashboard’ shows data for a smaller set of key indicators for all LAs, including Enfield, in ways that allow comparisons to be made. It is available at the following link: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/topic/public-health-dashboard#par/nn-1-E09000010/sim/nn-1-E09000010/are/E09000010/ati/102

Teenage Pregnancy

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse has been of the teenage pregnancy unit in each year since its creation; and how many civil servants were employed within it in each of those years.

Seema Kennedy: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Research

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he make an assessment of the potential merits of ring-fencing funding for high-quality ME research as the Government has done for dementia and brain cancer.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department for Health and Social Care funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The Government also supports research relating to myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) through the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of the Department for Business, Environment and Industrial Strategy partner organisation, UK Research and Innovation. Both the NIHR and the MRC welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ME; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications to the NIHR and the MRC are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Research into chronic fatigue syndrome CFS/ME is an area of strategic importance for the MRC and the only medical condition for which the MRC has a dedicated Highlight Notice which identifies areas where proposals are particularly encouraged. These include proposals which have a focus on the underpinning mechanisms of ME/CFS, with priority areas including immune dysregulation; pain; improved sub-phenotyping and stratification of ME/CFS; and mechanisms of ME/CFS in children and young people.

Low Birthweight Babies

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many babies have been born at a low birth weight in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Cocoa

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that international cocoa farmers are achieving a living income.

Harriett Baldwin: Working towards a living income in global value chains is one of the keys to driving poverty reduction and economic development. The Department for International Development (DFID) is a long-term supporter of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL Alliance), the umbrella organisation for standards systems such as Fairtrade, and is one of the founding members of the Living Income Community of Practice. We support the development of standards that help smallholder farmers reach a decent standard of living. DFID also supports the Ethical Trading Initiative, a multi-stakeholder body working with UK food retailers, suppliers, trade unions and civil society to implement International Labour Organisation standards in global value chains, including cocoa. The UK has a strong history of protecting human rights in business and promoting our values globally. We are committed to upholding the UK’s values, including around labour standards, and will consider the full range of mechanisms available in the design of future trade and investment agreements.

Overseas Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what reasons the Government provides development assistance to countries with a space agency.

Harriett Baldwin: UK aid aims to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Government’s objectives as set out in the 2015 UK Aid Strategy. This is firmly in the UK’s national interest. As such, the UK focuses most of its aid spending on countries with the highest need; in low-income, fragile, and conflict-affected regions. However, in some middle-income countries there are still enduring high levels of poverty. These countries may no longer need grant aid in the form that we have previously provided, but may require assistance in other ways, such as technical expertise or help raising their own revenue to reduce poverty. This assistance may continue after a country has reached middle-income status and its economy modernises. The 2016 bilateral and multilateral development reviews set out our approach to allocations in more detail. As the Secretary of State has made clear, DFID will not just spend aid well, but will ensure that it could not be spent better.

Yemen: Visas

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of trends in (a) delays and (b) denials of entry visas to Yemen for humanitarian workers on the delivery of humanitarian assistance in that country.

Harriett Baldwin: The operating environment in Yemen remains extremely difficult for humanitarian actors, with UN agencies and NGOs regularly facing administrative constraints when delivering aid, including delays to travel permissions and operating agreements, and visa denials. The UK is in close communication with partners operating on the ground to understand and mitigate against these constraints. We also support the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, who works tirelessly with both parties to the conflict and humanitarian actors to facilitate access and ensure aid reaches those most in need. The UK also raises humanitarian concerns directly with both parties, calling on them to comply with UN Security Council 2451, drafted by the UK, which requires the parties to facilitate safe, rapid, and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance.

Yemen: Internally Displaced People

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the critical needs of the 3.3 million internally displaced people in Yemen.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is providing a range of support to the 3.3 million people displaced in Yemen since the conflict began in 2015. Last financial year (2018/19) we provided £11.4 million to the International Organisation for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which included assistance to Internally Displaced People (IDPs). This comprised: primary healthcare and mental health services, legal assistance, child protection and support to survivors of gender-based violence. Since June 2017, UK aid has helped over 30,000 IDPs receive psychosocial support and provided over 24,000 with life-saving health care. On 24 February, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would provide an additional £200 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for this financial year (2019/20). This funding will include continued support to people displaced by conflict, and brings the total UK commitment to Yemen to £770 million since the conflict began in 2015.

Department for International Development: International Monetary Fund and World Bank

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to raise LGBT+ issues at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group; and if she will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK Government believes in the right to live with dignity, free from violence or discrimination irrespective of a person's sexual orientation and will continue to make the case, and stand up, for LGBT rights throughout the world. At the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings, I will also continue to call on the international community to ensure that no-one is left behind, irrespective of gender, disability, or sexuality, in our efforts to achieve the Global Goals.

Kenya: LGBT People

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote and (b) assist with the repealing of legislation that criminalises or discriminates against LGBT citizens in Kenya.

Penny Mordaunt: The Foreign Office represents the UK Government in the International Forum on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) in Kenya. Through this Forum, the UK is promoting the recognition of the rights and freedoms of all including LGBT persons. In October 2018, the British High Commission and DFID representatives in Nairobi met local LGBT activists to discuss interventions that would be most useful in guaranteeing fundamental rights to dignity, security, health and non-discrimination for all Kenyan citizens including LGBT persons. The High Commission in Nairobi has supported Kenyans from LGBTI groups to attend international forums on LGBTI rights

Southern Africa: Storms

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for International Department, what progress is being made in getting aid to people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi after Cyclone Idai.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is currently the largest donor to the Cyclone Idai response, providing £22 million of UK aid, £4 million of which is to match the UK public’s generous contributions to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s appeal. This is being used to deliver life-saving relief: tents and thousands of shelter kits are being distributed to those who have lost everything. UK aid is supporting the World Food Programme to feed 400,000 people in Mozambique, and cash transfers for food purchases in Malawi. In Zimbabwe, we are providing essential health, hygiene and child protection support. We continue to monitor the situation very closely, and the UK stands ready to provide further support if needed.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to reports of aid to Yemen being stolen by armed groups in the country, what steps her Department is taking to ensure aid for Yemen reaches the people who most need it.

Harriett Baldwin: We are acutely aware of the risks of delivering life-saving assistance in the midst of Yemen’s conflict. DFID has a zero-tolerance policy to the diversion of UK aid funds and seeks to minimise the risks to ensure life-saving assistance reaches those who need it most.We do this by only channelling support through organisations with a strong record of delivering and monitoring assistance, such as UN agencies and international NGOs. All of DFID’s partners and programmes are also subject to rigorous and regular due diligence to ensure that UK aid goes directly to those who need it most. Moreover, we fund an independent monitoring programme that provides third-party verification of results that partners have reported to back to DFID.

Department for International Development: Ministers

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into by his Department in each of the last five years in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Minister in her Department.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID has not entered into any non-disclosure agreements in each of the last five years in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Minister in the Department.

Department for Education

Education: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line B School Infrastructure and Funding of Education (Department) of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to HM Treasury, Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates 2018-19, Department for Education, Spending in DE, Line C School Infrastructure and Funding of Education (ALB) (Net), what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in that line of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line D Education Standards, Curriculum and Qualifications (Department) of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line E Social Care, Mobility and Equalities (Department) of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line F Social Care, Mobility and Equalities (ALB) (Net), of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line G Standards and Testing Agency of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line H Teaching Regulation Agency of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line I Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line J Grants to LA Schools via ESFA of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line K Grants to Academies via ESFA of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line L Higher Education of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 202 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding outlined in Line M Further Education of the estimate.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to HM Treasury Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates 2018-19 Department for Education Spending in DEL, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital allocations set out at line N Higher Education (ALB) (net).

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to HM Treasury Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates 2018-19 Department for Education Spending in DEL, what programmes are funded by the (a) resource and (b) capital funding set out at line O Further Education (ALB) (net).

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 15 March 2019



As per the ‘Central Government Supply Estimates 2018-19: Supplementary Estimates’, resource funding for programmes by Estimate Line is disclosed in the attached table. This information is supplemented by additional information contained in the ‘Supplementary Estimate Memorandum’ published by the Education Select Committee.For programmes covered by capital funding in the '2018-19 Supplementary Estimate', the Department is investing £23 billion in the school estate in the current Spending Review period (2016-17 to 2020-21) to deliver new school places, rebuild or refurbish buildings in the worst condition and deliver thousands of condition projects across the school estate. Details on 2018-19 school’s capital budgets is available at Annex D of the ‘Supplementary Estimate Memorandum 2018-19’.In addition to the Department’s investment in school’s capital, the Department also funds capital projects in other sectors, including higher education, further education, and children’s social care.



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Schools: Fires

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the loss of school facilities used by the wider community as a result of fire.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not assess the impact of the loss of school facilities on the wider community. The majority of fires in schools are restricted to the room of origin, with very few leading to the loss of facilities.

Schools: Fire Prevention

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to prevent school fires breaking out as a result of hot works.

Nick Gibb: The Department has produced guidance to assist schools in the safe management of maintenance activity that creates a significant risk of fire (hot works). These activities include plumbing activities using blow torches, and roof repair activities that use liquefied petroleum gas and bitumen burners.This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/fire-risk-from-school-maintenance-or-building-works.

Apprentices

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the conclusions of the National Audit Office’s report of 6 March 2019, The apprenticeships programme, HC 1987 2017-19, what plans he has to address concerns that funding for that programme may be insufficient should there be an increase in demand for apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: Holding answer received on 04 April 2019



We are pleased that employers are choosing to move to our new, higher quality apprenticeship offer to make a sustainable investment in the skills that they need to grow. Employers are designing higher level apprenticeships that take longer and require more off-the-job training and, while this is something to be welcomed, we are conscious of the challenges it presents. In 2019-20, funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England will be over £2.5 billion, this is double what was spent in 2010-11. The apprenticeship budget is set in advance by Her Majesty’s Treasury for the current spending review period. Currently, we expect to be within budget in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years. We continue to monitor the trend of increasing spending on apprenticeships and to make use of our engagement with employers in addition to all available data from the programme to inform forecasts of demand and future costs. The level of funding for the programme beyond 2020 will be determined by the forthcoming Spending Review announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his Spring Statement.

Schools: Climate Change

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to (a) respond to the concerns on climate change raised by protesting school children and (b) incorporate those concerns into school activities and the curriculum.

Nick Gibb: It is important that young people are taught about climate change. Topics related to this are included in the science and geography curriculum and qualifications.For example, in primary school science pupils are taught about how weather changes across the seasons, and look at how environments can change as a result of human actions. In secondary science pupils are taught about the production of carbon dioxide by human activity and the effect this has on the climate. This is expanded on in GCSE science where pupils will consider the evidence for additional anthropogenic causes of climate change. As part of GCSE geography pupils will look at the causes, consequences of and responses to extreme weather conditions and natural weather hazards.In 2017 the Department introduced a new environmental science A level. This will enable students to study topics that will support their understanding of climate change and how it can be tackled.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of school days lost due to protests on climate change (a) in Newcastle upon Tyne and (b) nationally.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not held centrally.Recording school absence is a matter for schools. Advice on recording absence is included in the school attendance guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance.The Department does not condone pupils missing out on education as a consequence of the recent protests on climate change.The issue of climate change is important, but missing school is not the solution. Absence causes disruption for other pupils and teachers, as schools seek to ensure that absent pupils catch up with work that has been missed.

Children: Food Poverty

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of food poverty on children and young people's physical, emotional and educational well-being.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government supports the provision of nutritious food in schools, which ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and can concentrate and learn. We encourage a healthy balanced diet and healthy life choices through school funding, legislation and guidance. Under the benefits-based criteria, around 1.1 million of the most disadvantaged children are eligible for and claiming free school meals – saving families around £400 per year. Benefits-based free meals were extended to disadvantaged further education students in September 2014. A further 1.5 million infants receive free nutritious meals under the universal infant free school meals scheme.We are also investing up to £26 million to the National Schools Breakfast Programme. This money will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in over 1,700 schools and target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including Opportunity Areas. Healthy breakfast clubs can play an important role in ensuring children from all backgrounds have a healthy start to their day so that they enhance their learning potential.In addition, in 2018 the government announced a programme of work to explore how to ensure disadvantaged young people can access healthy food and enriching activities over the school holidays. We awarded £2 million to 7 organisations to deliver free healthy food and enriching activities to disadvantaged children during the 2018 summer holidays. In November 2018, we announced details of a £9 million fund for summer 2019 to set-up local coordinators of free holiday activities and food provision in summer 2019 in a number of local authorities.

Children's Centres: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children's centres offer mental health support for new and expectant mothers.

Nadhim Zahawi: ​This government is committed to improving perinatal mental health services. The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment for a further 24,000 women to be able to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24, building on the additional 30,000 women who will access these services each year by 2020/21 under pre-existing plans. Specialist care will also be available from preconception to 24 months after birth, which will provide an extra year of support. We do not however routinely collect information on the extent to which services are provided through children’s centres.

Adult Education: Trade Unions

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what level of funding has been allocated from the Adult Education budget to fund trade union education modules in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The Adult Education Budget (AEB) is not allocated to specific provision areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency allocates AEB to individual providers who, under the current freedoms and flexibility policy, are able to use their funds to support any learners meeting the funding rules. Therefore the table below shows the value of Trade Union learning delivered through the AEB for each funding year. Please note that the AEB has been operating since 2016/17. It was previously known as the Adult Skills Budget. Adult Education Budget (and equivalent predecessor budget) delivery of Trade Union learning Funding YearFunding2013/14£11.7 million2014/15£11.1 million2015/16£10.7 million2016/17£5.9 million2017/18£5.4 million

Adult Education: Finance

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the Adult Education Budget will be (a) devolved to mayoral authorities, (b) be administered nationally by the  Skills Funding Agency in 2019-20 and; and what estimate he has made of those same figures for subsequent years.

Anne Milton: From 2019/20 academic year the Adult Education Budget (AEB) will be devolved to 6 Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCA) (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands and West of England) and delegated to the Greater London Authority (GLA). 49% of the AEB participation budget will be devolved to MCAs/GLA. 51% of the AEB will be administrated by the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) who will continue to be responsible for funding learners that are resident outside devolved areas. Ministers agreed that the methodology for calculating ESFA/MCAs/GLA budgets will be based on historic provider delivery and learner residence in 2017 to 2018. Residency calculations have been used to determine the percentage share of the budget. The 2017 to 2018 calculation establishes the baseline percentage for what ESFA/MCAs/GLA AEB allocations will be for the foreseeable future. The percentage split between ESFA/MCAs/GLA in future years could change dependent upon whether North of Tyne and Sheffield City Region meet the readiness conditions for their devolution deals.

Adult Education: Finance

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) organisations, (b) learning institutions and (c) other bodies will have direct access to nationally funded adult education funds irrespective of where the learning is delivered.

Anne Milton: From 2019/20 academic year the Adult Education Budget (AEB) will be devolved to 6 Mayoral Combined Authorities (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands and West of England) and delegated to the Greater London Authority, who will be responsible for commissioning and funding adult education provision for learners resident in their areas. From that date the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will be responsible for funding AEB provision for learners resident in non-devolved areas. In addition:From 2019/20 the traineeship programme for learners aged 19 to 24 will continue to operate as a national programme, and learners on this programme will be funded by the ESFA irrespective of where learners live.Providers which meet all the following criteria will be funded nationally by the ESFA for a 2 year transitional period (1 August 2019 to 31 July 2021): qualify for a financial residential uplift for their learning provision, receive more than two thirds of their income from the AEB, and predominantly target the most disadvantaged learners.In 2019/20, for one year only, the ESFA will continue to fund learners that were in learning in 2018 to 2019 but did not complete their program by 31 July 2019, regardless of where they reside.This means that in 2019/20 the ESFA will therefore continue to have an AEB funding relationship with the majority of current AEB providers including FE colleges, independent training providers, specialist designated institutes, local authorities and higher education institutes.

Special Educational Needs: Autism

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the refusal of requests for education, health and care assessments for children with a diagnosis of autism.

Nadhim Zahawi: The guidance issued to local authorities about education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including autism, is as specified in the SEND Code of Practice: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.Where a local authority decides not to conduct an EHC needs assessment, it must inform the child’s parents or the young person of their right to appeal that decision and the time limit for doing so, of the requirement for them to consider mediation should they wish to appeal, and ensure the availability of information, advice and support and disagreement resolution services. The local authority should also provide feedback collected during the process of considering whether an EHC needs assessment is necessary, including evidence from professionals, which the parent, young person, early years provider, school or post-16 institution may find useful.

Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will require schools to report all informal exclusions from school of children who have special educational needs.

Nick Gibb: The law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended. Where a school issues an exclusion, there is a formal process that must be followed. ‘Unofficial’ or ‘informal’ exclusions, such as sending pupils home to ‘cool off’, are unlawful regardless of whether they are done with the agreement of parents or carers and regardless of the age of the pupil. Any exclusion of a pupil, even for short periods of time, must be formally recorded. Schools can only exclude pupils, either permanently or for a fixed period, for disciplinary reasons, and the Department supports schools in using exclusion where this is warranted. No teacher goes into education to exclude pupils. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort, in response to a serious breach or persistent breaches of the school's behaviour policy and where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school.

Teachers: Training

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is monitoring the implementation by Initial Teacher Training providers of its Framework of Core Content for Initial Teacher Training published in July 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: All Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses must enable their trainees to demonstrate that they meet the Teachers' Standards (2011). It is for ITT providers to use their professional judgement to determine the content and structure of their courses.To support ITT providers to do this, the Department published the Framework of Core Content for ITT in 2016 and it is still in place. In the Recruitment and Retention Strategy, published in January 2019, the Department committed to reviewing ITT core content guidance using the Early Career Framework as our starting point. This will ensure that ITT complements and builds towards the Early Career Framework and together they will provide the foundations of a successful and rewarding career.Ofsted is responsible for testing the quality of ITT and it assesses how providers use the Framework as part of ITT inspections. At their most recent inspection, 99% of all ITT providers were rated good or outstanding.[1] Officials are working closely with Ofsted on the development of its new ITT inspection guidance, to ensure that providers’ use of the framework remains crucial to judgements about ITT quality. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-education-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-30-june-2018.

Schools: North West

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase funding for schools in (a) Wigan and (b) the North West.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to discuss school funding levels with headteachers in (a) Wigan and (b) the North West.

Nick Gibb: Funding for schools in the Wigan local authority has increased by 1.4% per pupil in 2019/20, compared to 2017/18 funding levels. This is equivalent to an extra £6.9 million in total, when rising pupil numbers are taken into account. Funding for schools in the North West has increased by 2.8% per pupil in 2019/20, compared to 2017/18 funding levels. This is equivalent to an extra £245.6 million in total, when rising pupil numbers are taken into account. Ministers and officials from the Department regularly meet head teachers. Funding is one of the Department’s top priorities and the Department is committed to securing the right deal for education in the next spending review.

Sixth Form Education: Finance

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a feasibility assessment of the proposals in the Raise the Rate campaign to increase funding for sixth form education.

Anne Milton: Ministers and officials in the department have noted the important points raised within the Raise the Rate campaign to increase funding for sixth form education. We recognise that funding has not kept up with costs. We will continue to look carefully at this in preparation for the next Spending Review, taking relevant evidence, including that presented by the Raise the Rate campaign into account.

Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, further to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237753, if he will publish the (a) schools awaiting rebrokering and (b) the trusts to which those schools most recently belonged.

Nadhim Zahawi: As at 27 March 2019, our records show that 93 academies are in the process of transferring to different trusts. The department does not publish the list of schools awaiting transfer as this could be obstructive to the process of managing those transfers in the best interests of pupils. Academies may transfer to other trusts in a range of circumstances. In some cases, the relevant Regional Schools Commissioner may be intervening due to concerns about academy performance. In other cases, an academy may be moving trust as part of an agreed voluntary arrangement.

Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237753, how many of the schools currently awaiting rebrokering have been waiting for longer than (a) one month, (b) six months, (c) one year, (d) two years and (e) three years or more.

Nadhim Zahawi: As at 27 March 2019, our records show that 93 academies are in the process of transferring to different trusts. Table 1 shows the amount of time that these academies have been awaiting transfer, following approval from the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) for the academy to move trust. Table 1: the amount of time academies have been awaiting transfer for  Numbers of academies transferring between trustsLess than one month11Between one and six months47Between six months and one year31Between one year and two years4Total93Source: 27 March 2019 Academies MI System Academies may transfer to other trusts in a range of circumstances. In some cases, the relevant RSC may intervene due to concerns about academy performance. A substantial majority of academy transfers are voluntary agreements between trusts. For example, we are encouraging single academy trusts to join multi academy trusts which is happening at a steady rate. When transferring an academy from one trust to another, there may be a number of things that can take time to resolve with the incoming trust who has agreed to take on the school, such as issues relating to land, or private finance initiative contracts; financial matters; or the process of transferring staff from one trust to another. Where there are concerns regarding an academy’s performance, we would seek to, wherever possible, put in place school improvement support while the transfer is underway.

Care Leavers: Supported Housing

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many care leavers were living in (a) semi-supported and (b) supported accommodation by (i) age and (ii) local authority area in each year since 2009.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of care leavers in supported or semi-supported accommodation since 2009 by age for each local authority is shown in the attached table. Information for 17 and 18 year olds has only been collected since 2016 and information for 20 and 21 year olds has only been collected since 2014.The department collects and publishes annual data on the activity and accommodation type of former care leavers, but the level of support in each accommodation type is not recorded. It is therefore not possible to split this data by semi-supported and supported accommodation.



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Care Leavers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many care leavers were living independently without support in England by (a) age and (b) local authority in every year since 2009.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is not held centrally.The department collects and publishes annual data on the activity and accommodation of former care leavers in the statistical release ‘Children Looked After in England including Adoption’, which can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.The level of support in each accommodation type is not recorded in this release. It is not possible to determine which of the care leavers living independently do not receive support from the local authority.

Schools: Discipline

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to monitor the use of isolation booths in schools.

Nick Gibb: As part of Ofsted inspections, schools will be asked to provide records and analysis of any use of internal isolation. Ofsted inspectors will expect schools to have clear and effective behaviour policies that promote high standards of behaviour and are applied consistently and fairly. In reaching a judgement on pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare, inspectors will take account of a range of information, including schools’ use of internal isolation. The Department does not collect or record information about schools’ use of internal isolation. The Department expects schools to develop their own policies and strategies for managing disruptive behaviour, according to their particular circumstances. To help schools develop effective strategies, the Department has produced advice for schools which covers what should be included in their behaviour policy. This advice can be viewed here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/488034/Behaviour_and_Discipline_in_Schools_-_A_guide_for_headteachers_and_School_Staff.pdf. The advice outlines how schools can adopt a policy which allows disruptive pupils to be placed in isolation away from other pupils. If a school uses isolation rooms as a disciplinary penalty, this should be made clear in their behaviour policy. As with other disciplinary penalties, schools must act lawfully, reasonably and proportionately in all cases, and must take account of any special education needs or disabilities pupils placed in isolation may have. The school must also ensure the health and safety of pupils.

Food Poverty: Academic Year

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to support local authorities and third sector organisations in helping to prevent holiday hunger during school holidays.

Nadhim Zahawi: Last year I announced a programme of work to explore how best to support disadvantaged children to access healthy food and enriching activities during the school holidays. This included £2 million awarded to 7 third sector organisations to deliver this sort of provision, free, to disadvantaged pupils over the 2018 summer holidays.We are more than quadrupling that amount for the 2019 summer holidays where we will be exploring how the coordination of this sort of provision across a local authority can help more disadvantaged pupils to access free high quality holiday club provision. Funding will support providers to deliver free high quality holiday provision (including healthy food) to disadvantaged children and young people in a number of local authorities.We have received applications for a share of this £9 million from a range of organisations including local authorities and third sector organisations, and will be announcing the successful bidders and the geographical locations for the scheme later in the spring.This programme of work will enable the government to make an evidence-based decision about if, and how, to intervene in this issue in the longer term.

Students: Apprentices

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that teachers are adequately trained to advise students on the benefits of apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) provides a programme in schools and further education colleges across England called the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for Schools (ASK) Programme, which provides a face-to-face and or digital services incorporating advice, information and continuous professional development resources for teachers. This service has been provided for students in years 10 to 13 since 2016 and will be extended to provide for students in years 7 to 9 for the 2019/20 academic year. In conjunction with this, we will seek feedback from teachers to inform our review of the content of the ASK programme to ensure that delivery is progressive throughout each school year. To complement this work, the ESFA also have developed Amazing Apprenticeships which is a resource portal for schools, colleges and those providing advice and guidance on apprenticeships. The site contains a wealth of useful resources that are downloadable and free of charge and includes a facility for schools to book a visit from a young apprenticeship ambassador or an ASK provider.Every school and college must have a Careers Leader who co-ordinates their institution's careers provision and is responsible and accountable for the delivery of their school or college careers programme.

Pupil Exclusions

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of school exclusions.

Nick Gibb: The Department supports head teachers in using exclusion where this is warranted.In March 2018, the Government launched an externally led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review is exploring how head teachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. It is also considering the differences in exclusion rates across primary and secondary schools in England.The review along with the Government response will be published in due course. The full terms of reference for the review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-review-terms-of-reference.

Pupil Exclusions: Free School Meals

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children excluded from full time education had previously been in receipt of free school meals in each year for which information is available.

Nadhim Zahawi: The National Statistics release ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England 2016 to 2017’ includes numbers and rates of exclusions. The full release is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017.The number of pupils eligible for free school meals that were excluded and the total number of exclusions in state-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools can be found in Table 9 (Free school meal eligibility as at January 2017).Information for earlier years can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions.

Pupils: Sanitary Protection

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the need to make sanitary products available in primary schools to address the needs of girls who begin menstruation in primary school.

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will extend his sanitary product scheme to primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: ​No one should be held back from reaching their potential because of their gender or background. That is why my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Spring Statement on 13 March 2019 that the Department for Education will lead a scheme to provide access to free sanitary products in all secondary schools and colleges in England. The scheme will be rolled out during the next academic year. As the scheme develops, we will also consider providing free sanitary products in primary schools.

Ministry of Justice

Alternatives to Prosecution: Shoplifting

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to make an assessment of the effectiveness of out of court disposals for shop theft; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: We recognise that shoplifting is not a victimless crime. It causes cost and disruption to businesses, as well as damage to communities and consumers. We encourage all victims, including shop workers, to report these crimes to the police so that they can be recorded and dealt with accordingly. A report by the Centre for Social Justice issued last year concluded that people addicted to heroin and crack cocaine account for 70% of shop thefts. We are committed to ensuring the most vulnerable offenders, including those with drug addictions, are able to access support at the right time. This includes diverting offenders away from custody where appropriate. Out of Court Disposals are one important tool available in addressing shop theft – they allow the police to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level offending. Where an Out of Court Disposal is appropriate, we encourage the use of disposals which have a condition attached (be that rehabilitative, reparative, punitive or restrictive). This can achieve rapid compensation and/or divert vulnerable offenders with substance misuse or mental health issues into rehabilitative services to address the root causes of their offending behaviour. We pay attention to trends and changes in the use of Out of Court Disposals on an ongoing basis.

Alternatives to Prosecution

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to implement simplified out of court disposals following the 2014 pilot on adult out of court disposals; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: Out of Court Disposals (OOCDs) allow police to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level offending without recourse to the courts. We are committed to ensuring the most vulnerable offenders can access community-based support, and recognise the benefits of early intervention. So, where an OOCD is appropriate, we encourage the use of disposals which have a condition attached (be that rehabilitative, reparative, punitive or restrictive), which can achieve rapid compensation for victims and/or divert offenders into rehabilitative services to address the root causes of their offending behaviour. We are working in partnership with the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) whose Charging and Out of Court Disposals strategy supports forces moving to the simplified two-tier framework when it is operationally and financially viable.

Crimes of Violence: Shops

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward stronger sanctions on people who attack shopworkers; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and assaults on shop-workers are unacceptable. There are a range of offences someone can be convicted of if they assault a shop-worker. Maximum penalties for offences are set by Parliament and include five years’ custody for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and life imprisonment for the most serious cases of causing grievous bodily harm. There are no plans to increase sentences for assault offences. When making sentencing decisions the courts must follow the relevant sentencing guidelines, produced by the independent Sentencing Council. The Overarching Principles: Seriousness Guideline and Assault Guideline require the court to treat the fact that an offence was committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public as an aggravating factor, making the offence more serious. The Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated later this year. On 21 January the Home Office announced the launch of a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers. The aim of this work is to strengthen our understanding of the issue, including how existing legislation is being applied. The National Retail Crime Steering Group will continue to provide input on tackling this issue.

Reoffenders: Community Orders

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of commencing section 151 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to allow courts to deal with low-level offences by repeat offenders through the use of community orders; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: There are no current plans to commence Section 151 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which allows courts, in certain circumstances, to use community orders for repeat offenders who might otherwise expect to receive fines. Section 143(2) of that Act requires courts to treat previous convictions as an aggravating factor when sentencing. For shop theft offences, the Sentencing Council’s guideline on theft offences came into force in 2016. This guideline allows for the imposition of community sentences for shop theft in a wide range of circumstances. In cases involving significant persistent offending, the community and custodial thresholds may be crossed even though the offence otherwise warrants a lesser sentence.

Forced Marriage: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offences involving forced marriages have been committed in (a) London and (b) Havering Borough in each year since 2010.

Lucy Frazer: The Home Office hold information on offences recorded by the police. The Ministry of Justice hold information on prosecutions and convictions for offences. Prosecutions for offences involving forced marriage by Police Force Area can be found in the Court Outcomes by Police Force Area data tool: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733996/court-outcomes-by-pfa-2017-update.xlsx. Select ’36.1 Forced Marriage’ and ’66.6 Breach of a forced marriage protection order’ in the Offence filter. For prosecutions in London, locate the row for Metropolitan Police in the table. Note that the figures reflect where the offences were dealt with, rather than where they were committed.

Offences Against Children: Convictions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many adults were convicted of offences involving the online grooming of children in 2018.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on proceedings and outcomes for a range of offences relating to grooming, including where an adult meets or attempts to meet a child aged under 16 following grooming and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Offences relating to online grooming are not distinguished from all grooming offences in court data, can be found under offence code 88a at the link below. Data on these offences is published up to December 2017 and available in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738814/HO-Code-Tool-2017.xlsx. Statistics for 2018 will be published on 16 May 2019.

Mental Illness: Employment Tribunals Service

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of employment tribunals had mental health as a contributing factor in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: This information requested is not held centrally.

Charitable Donations

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the termination of the Department’s contract with Smee and Ford, what changes his Department plans make to its legacy notification service for charities to ensure the new system is fully compliant with the law.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Charitable Donations

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the termination of his Department’s contract with Smee and Ford, what interim solutions will be put in place to ensure continuity of the legacy notification service for charities; and whether those solutions will include extending the current provider’s contract beyond July.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coroners: Suicide

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of suicides which have not been recorded as such due to the standard of proof required by a coroner's court in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had and with whom on the standard of proof required for a conclusion of suicide in a coroner's court; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: Coroners are independent judicial office holders and, as such, it would be inappropriate to speculate on issues directly relating to the conclusions they record. The Ministry of Justice collects annual data, from each coroner area, on the number of inquest conclusions recorded. The most recent data are available at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706047/coroners-statistics-2017-csvs.zip.Since the High Court judgment in R (Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire of July last year, coroners have applied the civil standard of proof in suicide conclusions, but this will shortly be considered by the Court of Appeal. I have not had any recent discussions on the standard of proof issue as it would be inappropriate for me to do so while the matter is before the courts.

Courts: Closures

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Buzzed article entitled The Ministry Of Justice Has Been Accused Of Sitting On Evidence That Undermines Its Drive To Close Courts, published on 18 March 2019, if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of reports in that article that the Government chose not to publish data which suggested that people had a more positive experience of the justice system if they had physically been in court; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Legal Aid Scheme: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of solicitors qualified to conduct Criminal Legal Aid work in rural Wales.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Legal Aid Scheme: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total amount spent on Criminal Legal Aid was in cases in which the defendant’s place of abode was in Wales in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Legal Representation: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people represented themselves at (a) magistrates and (b) Crown courts in Wales in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Probation: Standards

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve case supervision as a result of the HM Inspectorate of Probation inspection of Cheshire and Greater Manchester Community Rehabilitation Company report published in April 2019.

Rory Stewart: The HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) report into Cheshire and Greater Manchester Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) awarded the service a rating of ‘requires improvement’. The Ministry of Justice takes the findings of HMIP in relation to CRCs very seriously and will work with the provider to ensure that an appropriate plan is in place to address the identified areas for improvement. We have been clear that probation services need to improve and are taking decisive action to stabilise and improve the delivery of probation services, We are investing an additional £22m a year to ensure that CRCs deliver an enhanced Through the Gate service to offenders leaving prison. This will include sustained support to find accommodation and employment on discharge. We want to see a more stable and resilient probation system which better integrates public, private and voluntary providers, so they work more effectively together to protect the public and reduce re-offending. We have taken decisive action by ending current Community Rehabilitation Company contracts early and last year, conducted a consultation on future arrangements. We are considering the feedback received and will set out detailed plans later this year.

Ministry of Justice: Ministers

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into by his Department in each of the last five years in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Minister in his Department.

Edward Argar: In each of the last five years, there have been no non-disclosure agreements entered into by the Department in respect of personnel matters relating to any Minister for my Department.

Treasury

Air Passenger Duty

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what legal advice his Department has received on ending the double taxation of domestic air passenger duty if the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the UK's ability to end the double taxation of domestic air passenger duty if the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the most recent occasion on which his Department (a) commissioned and (b) received legal advice on domestic air passenger duty.

Robert Jenrick: Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to all departures from UK airports, therefore airlines are liable on both outward and return leg domestic journeys. It is not possible under current EU law to have different rates of APD on intra-UK flights than on flights from the UK to other European Union destinations. All aspects of APD remain under review, and the government will continue to receive legal advice as appropriate during policy development.

Consumer Credit Act 1974

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Review of retained provisions of the Consumer Credit Act; and what form the response will take.

John Glen: On 25 March, the Government laid a Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1442) in response to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) review of the retained provisions of the Consumer Credit Act. The Statement explained that the Government will consider the report and whether further reform of the consumer credit regulatory regime is needed. The Written Ministerial Statement can be found at: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-03-25/HCWS1442/

Public Sector: Procurement

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of procurement of goods and services by public authorities in the West Midlands Metropolitan Area for the last 12 months for which data are available.

Elizabeth Truss: Procurement data that is collected by Government is published in the annual Whole of Government Accounts. It is compiled on a national level and a local authority level split is not available.

Food: Charitable Donations

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of businesses that have claimed tax relief on donating food stock to charity and (b) the total value of tax relief granted for this purpose, in each of the most recent five years for which data is available.

Mel Stride: The Government does not have this information available. If a company donates its trading stock to a charity, it does not have to include anything in its sales income for the value of the gift.

Food: Charitable Donations

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to encourage more (a) food retailers and (b) food manufacturers to claim tax relief on donating trading stock to charity.

Mel Stride: Companies can claim relief for the cost of donating their trading stock to charities, including food banks, from their taxable profits. The Government promotes awareness and understanding of the relief available for corporate charitable donations through publishing guidance on GOV.UK and actively engages with businesses and charities to ensure the tax code is supporting them to meet their charitable objectives.

Pay

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the levels of pay since 2010.

John Glen: The level of pay has continually increased since 2010, with average weekly earnings increasing by 20% over this period. Regular wages are currently growing at their fastest pace in over a decade and have outstripped inflation for 11 consecutive months. We’ve just seen another above inflation increase in the National Living Wage, to £8.21, meaning a full-time worker on the NLW will be earning £690 more over the coming year.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Alex Sobel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what conditions were used to determine the planned disposal of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shares by 2023-24; what alternative proposals were assessed (a) for the disposal of shares by 2023-24 and (b) during the planning of the earlier proposal for disposal of RBS shares by 2022-23; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of maintaining majority public ownership of RBS in the short, medium and long term.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2019, to Question 222650 on Royal Bank of Scotland, how the Treasury will determine at which point and under what conditions the disposal of RBS shares will represent value for money for the taxpayer such that they will at that time be disposed of.

John Glen: Following significant further progress made by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in resolving its legacy issues, Budget 2018 set out the government’s intention to undertake a full disposal of the RBS shareholding by 2023-24, subject to market conditions and achieving value for money. This built on the intention set out at Autumn Budget 2017 to dispose of around £15 billion of shares by 2022/23.Returning RBS to private ownership is the right policy for taxpayers, customers and the wider economy. It was never the intention that government would be a permanent shareholder in RBS. The government intervened in RBS to protect ordinary savers and businesses, and to prevent the collapse of a bank which was vital to the functioning of the UK economy and financial system. It was not a speculative investment designed to make a profit. The government keeps the timing and method of future disposals under constant review but will only undertakes sales when it can achieve fair value – that is, when the share price accurately reflects the current and future prospects of RBS. RBS is a fundamentally different, smaller and more sustainable bank today compared to 2008. As a result, we have to accept that the shares are worth less than the price the then government paid for them.

Royalties: Taxation

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the revenue estimates for the Royalties Withholding Tax proposed in the 2018 Budget calculated were calculated; and whether those calculations took into account the interaction between that measure and tax treaty provisions on the taxation of royalties.

Mel Stride: The revenue estimates for the Royalties Withholding Tax (now known as Offshore Receipts in respect to Intangible Property) did take into account the interaction between the measure and the tax treaty provisions on the taxation of royalties. An explanation of how the revenue estimates were calculated for Autumn Budget 2017 was provided in the Autumn Budget 2017 policy costings document - please see page 33: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/752208/Budget_2018_policy_costings_PDF.pdf  The costing was updated for Budget 2018 but the costing methodology did not change significantly.

Brexit: Carmarthen East and Dinefwr

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money the Government has allocated to no deal preparations in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency.

Elizabeth Truss: The UK Government is making additional funding available so that departments and the devolved administrations can prepare effectively for EU Exit. More than £4.2 billion has been provided since 2016, including over £2 billion for core Brexit activity in 2019-20 for deal and no deal preparations. The 2019-20 allocations were announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 18 December 2018. The devolved administrations received their full share of additional funding in devolved areas through the Barnett Formula, with the Welsh Government allocated £31.1m. This follows Barnett-based allocations to the Welsh Government of £3.7m in 2017-18 and £21.4m in 2018-19. It is for departments and devolved administrations to decide where to allocate EU Exit funding across reserved and devolved responsibilities respectively.

Brexit: Ceredigion

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money the Government has allocated to no deal preparations in Ceredigion constituency.

Elizabeth Truss: The UK Government is making additional funding available so that departments and the devolved administrations can prepare effectively for EU Exit. More than £4.2 billion has been provided since 2016, including over £2 billion for core Brexit activity in 2019-20 for deal and no deal preparations. The 2019-20 allocations were announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 18 December 2018. The devolved administrations received their full share of additional funding in devolved areas through the Barnett Formula, with the Welsh Government allocated £31.1m. This follows Barnett-based allocations to the Welsh Government of £3.7m in 2017-18 and £21.4m in 2018-19. It is for departments and devolved administrations to decide where to allocate EU Exit funding across reserved and devolved responsibilities respectively.

Brexit: Dwyfor Meirionnydd

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money the Government has allocated to no deal preparations in Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency.

Elizabeth Truss: The UK Government is making additional funding available so that departments and the devolved administrations can prepare effectively for EU Exit. More than £4.2 billion has been provided since 2016, including over £2 billion for core Brexit activity in 2019-20 for deal and no deal preparations. The 2019-20 allocations were announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 18 December 2018. The devolved administrations received their full share of additional funding in devolved areas through the Barnett Formula, with the Welsh Government allocated £31.1m. This follows Barnett-based allocations to the Welsh Government of £3.7m in 2017-18 and £21.4m in 2018-19. It is for departments and devolved administrations to decide where to allocate EU Exit funding across reserved and devolved responsibilities respectively.

Brexit: Arfon

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money the Government has allocated to no deal preparations in Arfon constituency.

Elizabeth Truss: The UK Government is making additional funding available so that departments and the devolved administrations can prepare effectively for EU Exit. More than £4.2 billion has been provided since 2016, including over £2 billion for core Brexit activity in 2019-20 for deal and no deal preparations. The 2019-20 allocations were announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 18 December 2018. The devolved administrations received their full share of additional funding in devolved areas through the Barnett Formula, with the Welsh Government allocated £31.1m. This follows Barnett-based allocations to the Welsh Government of £3.7m in 2017-18 and £21.4m in 2018-19. It is for departments and devolved administrations to decide where to allocate EU Exit funding across reserved and devolved responsibilities respectively.

NHS: Kilmarnock and Loudoun

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many NHS employees in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency face increased tax bills as a result of the changes to the tapering of the annual allowance combined with the introduction of the 2015 NHS pension scheme.

Mel Stride: HM Treasury sets the UK-wide tax rules for pensions, and does not set the rules for individual schemes. The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review through the annual Budget process. Health is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government. The Scottish Public Pensions Agency are responsible for the administration of the pensions for employees of the National Health Service schemes in Scotland. HM Treasury therefore does not hold relevant data about NHS employees in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

London Capital and Finance

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the timetable for the review of London Capital and Finance following its collapse.

John Glen: On 1 April, I announced that I will use powers under the Financial Services Act 2012 to direct the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to launch an investigation into the events at London Capital & Finance and the circumstances surrounding them. This followed a request to me from the FCA Chair, Charles Randell, to launch such an investigation. The investigation will be led by an independent person appointed by the FCA, with the approval of HM Treasury. Further details of the independent investigation will be communicated in due course.

Department for Transport: Public Expenditure

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether spending plans for the Department for Transport in the next Spending Review will align with environmental objectives and the Climate Change Act.

Elizabeth Truss: We will continue to ensure that spending decisions take full account of our environmental obligations, including at the next Spending Review. Departments are expected to follow Green Book guidance when appraising proposals, and it requires them to account for any environmental impacts, including those which affect air quality, natural capital, noise, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. The Department for Transport is committed to ensuring that the transport sector plays a full part in delivering the emissions reductions required to meet our legally binding carbon budget commitments, as well as other environmental objectives.

Economics of Biodiversity Review

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Dasgupta Review on the economics of biodiversity will be formally established.

Robert Jenrick: At the recent Spring Statement, the government announced that it will launch a comprehensive global review of the link between biodiversity and economic growth, to be led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta. The review will be formally established in the coming months after work to finalise the details has been completed.

Economics of Biodiversity Review

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the terms of reference for the Dasgupta Review on the economics of biodiversity.

Robert Jenrick: The government intends to publish the terms of reference for the Review on the Economics of Biodiversity in due course.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Fire Extinguishers

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the merits of the request by London Fire Brigade for sprinklers to be placed on all new-build residential developments.

Kit Malthouse: The Department is undertaking a technical review of the Building Regulations’ fire safety guidance. A call for evidence closed on 15 March. The call for evidence specifically asked for views on the provision of sprinklers.The Department is currently analysing the responses to the call for evidence including that from the London Fire Brigade.

Buildings: Insulation

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many environmental health officers his Department (a) plans to recruit and (b) has recruited to deal with cases involving cladding.

Kit Malthouse: It is the responsibility of local authorities under the Housing Act 2004 to assess the risk of a hazard in residential housing, including the risk of hazard posed by aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding on private sector high-rise residential buildings. The powers to undertake assessments and carry out enforcement action under the Act and the Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) rest with local authorities rather than the Government. Environmental health officers are employed by local authorities. The Government has funded the Local Government Association to host a Joint Inspection Team to provide advice and support to local authorities with such assessments. This team includes environmental health officers.

Private Rented Housing

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to assess the effectiveness of provisions in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 related to the private rented sector, including (a) rent repayment orders, (b) civil penalty powers, (c) data sharing between local housing authorities and tenancy deposit schemes, (d) banning orders and (e) the database of rogue landlords; and when he plans to make those assessments.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a range of additional powers to help local authorities tackle rogue landlords and drive up standards. These powers came into effect at different times during the last three years.It is Government practice to review the impact of legislation within three to five years of implementation. This period allows measures to embed and take effect so that impact can be measured and assessed. We will carry out a review of the measures contained in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 in line with this commitment.The Government has proactively engaged with local authorities through a series of roadshows and workshops, and is updating and refreshing enforcement guidance for local authorities, to ensure that they are able to utilise their powers to maximum effect.

5G

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Permitted Development Rights in allowing installation of infrastructure to develop the (a) existing and (b) proposed 5G mobile phone network.

Kit Malthouse: We published the revised National Planning Policy Framework in 2018, setting out national planning policies for supporting high quality communications in England. These include that the planning policies and decisions of local planning authorities should support the expansion of electronic communications networks, such as 5G.We have also introduced a range of permitted development rights to support the delivery of mobile infrastructure, including legislating for higher masts in 2016, whilst also protecting local amenity.We hope that these measures will be used by industry, alongside proactive engagement with the planning system, to ensure delivery of 5G. However, we will keep planning regulations under review.

Local Growth Deals: Borderlands

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what process his Department is using to allocate Borderlands Growth Deal funding; and what progress he has made in allocating that funding.

Jake Berry: A total of up to £447 million will be invested in the Borderlands region, including up to £260 million towards the deal from UK Government; £102 million UK Government investment in Carlisle from the Housing Infrastructure Fund; and £85 million contribution to the deal from Scottish Government. Following the Government’s Spring Statement announcement, we are now working with partners towards a Heads of Terms deal in the coming months. This will set out the specific projects and interventions to be delivered through the deal, based on the local proposals that best drive growth and productivity across the region and represent value for money.

Homelessness: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of homeless people who died outdoors in the last 12 months were Sikh.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The ONS recently published a statistical report on the deaths of homeless people in England and Wales. This does not break down the number of deaths by religion. The full ONS report can be found at the following website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/deathsofhomelesspeopleinenglandandwales.Every death of someone sleeping rough on our streets is one too many and we take this matter extremely seriously. The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.In it’s first year, the Rough Sleeping Initiative provided over 1,750 new bed spaces and 500 staff.It should not happen that people die prematurely and on the street because they are homeless. Whilst we recognise that suitable housing is a key part of the solution, health services have a significant role to play, alongside other public services. The MHCLG is working with the DHSC to ensure that rough sleepers have the health care they need, when they need it. The 10 year NHS long-term plan sets out that the NHS will invest up to £30 million on health services for people sleeping rough from 2019/20.

Planning Obligations

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure developers comply with their obligations under Section 106 agreements.

Kit Malthouse: Section 106 planning obligations are negotiated between a local authority and developer on a case by case basis.The revised National Planning Policy Framework introduces early and transparent viability assessments. This strengthens the ability of local authorities to make developers deliver their obligations under Section 106 agreements.We have committed in our response to the HCLG Select Committee on land value capture to report to the Committee by the end of 2019 on the effect of these recent reforms.

West Midlands Combined Authority: Borrowing

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the total borrowing capacity is of the West Midlands Combined Authority; and how much that combined authority has borrowed since its establishment.

Jake Berry: Each combined authority remains responsible for its own borrowing. The prudential borrowing regime provides that an authority can borrow lawfully only if it can demonstrate that servicing and repayments of the debt are affordable. Mayoral combined authorities have annual maximum debt caps in place, agreed with HM Treasury, which can be reviewed if the need arises, and for the West Midlands:2018-192019-202020-21£546,744,807£783,049,523£1,041,974,844 Figures published by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government detail outstanding debt on a quarterly basis for each local authority and combined authority, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-local-government-finance

Local Government: Freedom of Information

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has provided to local authorities on responding to freedom of information requests on preparations for the UK leaving the EU.

Rishi Sunak: The Government has not issued guidance to local authorities on freedom of information (FOI) requests on preparations for leaving the European Union. It has provided guidance to members of local resilience forums who had received FOI queries on no deal planning.

Social Rented Housing: Mental Illness

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure the social housing system adequately supports people with mental health problems.

Kit Malthouse: The Regulator of Social Housing’s tenancy standard requires registered providers to develop and deliver allocations processes in a way which supports their effective use by the full range of actual and potential tenants, including those with support needs.In the Social Housing Green Paper we set out our intention to undertake an evidence collection exercise to help us understand how the allocations system is working and whether it is striking the right balance between fairness, support and aspiration. The Social Housing Green Paper also recognises that many landlords play a role that goes beyond their key responsibilities, which includes providing signposting to vital services such as mental health services. Through the Green Paper, we sought to gather evidence on the impact of the important role that many social landlords are playing. We are considering responses to the Green Paper and will respond in due courseWithin social housing, and more widely, supported housing provides a vital service for vulnerable people, including people with mental health issues. Safeguarding provision and supply of appropriate supported accommodation is a priority for my department. We will continue to provide capital grant funding to promote new supply of supported housing.In August 2018 we announced that support for housing costs would remain in housing benefit. We believe this approach gives the sector the confidence and certainty they need to continue to invest in new supply and we are developing a programme of oversight measures that will deliver quality and value for money across the whole supported housing sector.As a Government, we are investing record levels in mental health, spending £11.98 billion in 2017/18.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what materials the term filler material was intended to apply to when that term was added to the 2006 Edition of Approved Document Part B Volume 2.

Kit Malthouse: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the term filler material was added to the 2006 Edition of Approved Document Part B Volume 2, how his Department communicated to stakeholders that it must be understood as covering the core of Aluminium Composite Material cladding.

Kit Malthouse: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 211668, for what reasons no political representatives were present at Shared Prosperity Fund engagement events in Wales.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the outcomes were of the shared prosperity fund consultation stakeholder events held in January 2019.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will list each shared prosperity fund stakeholder event that has taken in place with the (a) venue, (b) date and (c) list of attendees for each such event.

Jake Berry: Since June 2018 we have held external stakeholder engagement events with representatives from a breadth of sectors. We have spoken to businesses, public bodies, higher education institutions, the voluntary and charity sector and rural partnership groups. These were official level meetings that included organisations who benefit from structural funds. These events invited views on the design and priorities of the fund to aid policy development. We will consult widely on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which will give all interested parties the chance to contribute their views to Government. To date we have held 25 engagement events in the UK which are listed below:England:West Midlands – Coventry – 20 June 2018South and East Midlands – Loughborough – 2 July 2018North East England – Gateshead – 25 July 2018South East England – London – 5 September 2018North West England – Preston – 11 September 2018Cornwall and Isles of Scilly – Truro – 12 September 2018South West England – Bristol – 25 September 2018East of England – Norwich – 4 October 2018Yorkshire and Humber – Huddersfield – 22 October 2018 Northern Ireland:Belfast – 15 November 2018 (2 Events)Derry Londonderry – 16 November 2018Belfast – 11 January 2019 (2 Events) Scotland:Edinburgh – 10 October 2018Glasgow – 1 November 2018Dundee – 1 November 2018Edinburgh – 2 November 2018Edinburgh – 7 February 2019Inverness – 8 February 2019 Wales:Cardiff- 8 November 2018 (2 Events)Cardiff- 9 November 2018 (2 Events)Saint Asaph – 30 January 2019

Buildings: Insulation

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of existing powers for local authorities to ensure combustible ACM cladding is removed from privately owned buildings; and what plans he has to ensure that local housing authorities are able to regulate effectively private buildings to ensure they meet fire safety standards.

Kit Malthouse: The Government is determined that local authorities will have all the support they need to ensure that all high-rise buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding are made permanently safe for the people who live in them and that building owners will not evade their responsibilities. We have provided new statutory guidance to local authorities in form of an addendum to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) operating guidance that provides specific guidance on the assessment of high-rise residential buildings with unsafe cladding. This will help local authorities to make robust hazard assessments, which can then be used as the basis on which to take enforcement action. We are committed to ensuring that residents of high-rise buildings are safe and feel safe and we will consult shortly on how we propose to implement the recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in her Independent review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. In addition, we are reviewing the HHSRS as whole to assess how well it works in practice and ensure it is fit for purpose.

Buildings: Insulation

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to support leaseholders who are charged for the removal of ACM cladding on privately owned buildings.

Kit Malthouse: The Secretary of State has consistently set out his strong expectation that leaseholders should be protected from the costs of remediation. My department is actively engaging with all building owners who have not committed to protect leaseholders. We have provided funding to the Leasehold Advisory Service to provide independent and free initial legal advice to affected leaseholders. We are considering all options to ensure that costs are not passed on to leaseholders.

Housing: Construction

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government is taking steps to prevent the development of policies which result in restrictions on playground use similar to the case of Henley Homes in Lambeth.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has been clear that unfair stigmatisation of social residents will not be tolerated, whether that be through restrictions on playground use or otherwise.We are looking closely at how we encourage and support genuinely mixed homes and communities. I have asked officials to explore strengthening our existing planning guidance to emphasise the importance of integrated communities and help prevent this kind of thing from ever happening again.MHCLG has been consulting widely on the question of stigma including through the Social Housing Green Paper. Many people living in England’s social homes told us they feel ignored and stigmatised and the Green Paper committed to tackling this. Our response to the Green Paper will be published in due course.

Multiple Occupation: Liverpool Wavertree

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many houses of multiple occupation there are in each of the six council wards in  Liverpool Wavertree constituency as at 1 April 2019.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many houses of multiple occupancy are registered with Liverpool City Council.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government does not collect ward level data for mandatory licensable HMOs.

Housing: Students

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the codes for student accommodation in (a) protecting tenants and owners of neighbouring properties and (b) maintaining management standards.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to expand the codes for student accommodation for maintaining property and management standards to extend to public spaces such as roads outside the property.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Codes of practice, run by Accreditation Network UK/Unipol and Universities UK/Guild HE cover areas such as management standards, waste management and anti-social behaviour. Were a member of a Code is found to be in breach of one of these areas, this would be addressed through the complaints procedure set out in the Codes.We currently have no plans to expand the Codes for purpose built student accommodation to public spaces. However, we are working with Unipol and Universities UK to update the Codes and ensure they cover any future Government legislation.

Multiple Occupation: Liverpool

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will undertake an impact assessment of the effect on the community in Liverpool of the mandatory HMO licensing scheme.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Through HMO licensing the Government is improving living conditions and overcrowding for many people.The Government carried out an impact assessment on mandatory licensing for the whole of England when it was extended on 1 October 2018. There are no plans for Government to undertake an impact assessment of the effect on the community in Liverpool.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ministers

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into by his Department in each of the last five years in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Minister in his Department.

Jake Berry: The Department has not entered into any Non-Disclosure Agreements during the last five years in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Minister in this Department.

Ministry of Defence

Bomb Disposal: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence,  On how many occasions Army Bomb Disposal teams were called out in Northern Ireland between (a) 1 January 2014 and 1 July 2016 and (b) 1 July 2016 and 1 January 2019 as a result of (i) viable devices and (ii) hoax devices.

Mark Lancaster: For the information on Army bomb disposal activity in Northern Ireland for January 2014 to July 2018, I refer the hon. Member to my response of 23 November 2018 to his Question 193391. Data for the period of 1 August 2018 to 1 January 2019 can be found below: 1 July 2018 – 1 January 2019 LOCATIONTASKS*IED DECLARATIONHOAX DECLARATIONNorthern Ireland**77109 * ‘Tasks’ refers to IED callouts (any task that may subsequently be classified by declaration as a Find, False, Hoax, IED, Explosion or Search Assist), as opposed to all callouts for all incidents, including Conventional Munitions Disposal callouts. These categories reflect the definitions of the Report of the Independent Reviewer Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007. ** All incidents requiring explosive ordnance disposal experts in Northern Ireland are dealt with solely by military personnel.

Saudi Arabia: European Fighter Aircraft

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions Typhoon aircraft have been returned from Saudi Arabia for maintenance or refit since March 2015.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft have been returned from Saudi Arabia to the UK for maintenance or refit since March 2015.

Stuart Andrew: None.

Uganda: Military Aid

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237709 on Uganda: Military Aid, what indirect support the UK Government provides to Uganda’s Special Forces Command.

Mark Lancaster: It is possible that a small number of Ugandan People's Defence Force personnel, who were given initial officer training in leadership, command and professional standards at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, may have been posted into the Special Forces Command at a later stage in their career.

Saudi Arabia: Military Aid

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2019 to Question 234804, how many RAF personnel in total are operating in Saudi Arabia; what roles those personnel are deployed to; and what the rank is of each of those personnel.

Mark Lancaster: The ranks of RAF personnel in Saudi Arabia range from Corporal to Air Vice-Marshal inclusive.

Yemen: Overseas Workers

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237783, whether (a) UK military personnel or (b) contractors are operating in Yemen.

Mark Lancaster: I have nothing to add to my answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237783.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Procurement

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which firms are actively bidding for the Fleet Solid Support Ships contract.

Stuart Andrew: The following companies/consortia have been selected to tender for the Fleet Solid Support ship design and build contract: Team UK (a UK consortium consisting of Babcock International, BAE Systems, Cammell Laird and Rolls-Royce), Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (Republic of Korea), Fincantieri (Italy), Navantia (Spain), and Japan Marine United Corporation (Japan).

Type 31 Frigates: Procurement

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the outturn budget for the Type 31e programme is maintained at £1.25 billion for five ships.

Stuart Andrew: As announced in the National Shipbuilding Strategy, we want five ships at an average price of £250 million per ship. In common with all procurement projects the overall Type 31e programme cost will be determined at the main investment decision point.

Type 31 Frigates: Procurement

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what weighting has been put on exportability of the platform in the assessment criteria for the procurement of Type 31e frigates; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: Exportability is an essential facet of the bid assessment for the Type 31e frigates. It is taken into account in both the Exportability and Adaptability evaluation criteria. I cannot discuss specific criteria or their weightings at this time as to do so would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence but can assure the hon. Member that the exportability of bidders' designs is positively valued.

Firing Ranges

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his investigation into the video allegedly showing serving armed forces personnel firing weapons at a target depicting the Leader of the Opposition will include (a) standards of discipline within all sections of the armed forces involved in that alleged event and (b) the way in which politics and political events are discussed by (i) officers and (ii) all other sections of the armed forces involved in that alleged event.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to investigate a video circulating on social media that depicts British soldiers using a picture of the Leader of the Opposition as target practice.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the head of Army operations in Kabul on media reports of British sodiers allegedly using a picture of the Leader of the Opposition as target practice.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidelines his Department has on the use of representations of public figures as targets in live fire drills (a) in base and (b) on deployment.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The video circulating on social media is deeply troubling. This behaviour is far from the high standards we usually see and expect of the Army at any time The Army has quick to launch a full investigation by the Royal Military Police. The findings of this investigation will inform next steps and appropriate action will be taken. The Defence Operational Shooting Policy specifies which types of targets are to be used during live fire training. At no time on any live firing activities are Service personnel encouraged to use images of public figures as targets.

Singapore: Navy

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what improvements have been completed to naval facilities in Singapore in the last two years.

Mark Lancaster: It has been assumed that "naval facilities" refer to both the wharf and oil fuel depot. In 2017-18: Installation of a Lightning Protection System. Installation of a roof over the Bulk Fuel Carrying Vehicle (bowser) filling facility. In 2018-19 Senoko main pumphouse pump upgrade, this work is due to be completed in June 2019. Automatic tank gauging, installation and commissioning complete.

Navy: Military Bases

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding the Government has allocated to UK naval facilities in (a) Bahrain, (b) Oman, (c) Diego Garcia, (d) Singapore and (e) Brunei in the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster: Allocated funding and Infrastructure costs in the last 12 months were as follows:Bahrain: funding allocated at the start of financial year (FY) 2018-19 for the UK Naval support facility was £10.55 million.Oman: £4.115 million was allocated to Duqm at the start of FY 2018-19.Diego Garcia: £3.04 million was allocated at the start of FY 2018-19.Singapore: Due to rental payments received from the US, -£1.33 million was allocated to British Defence Singapore Support Unit at the start of FY 2018-19; however £1.845 million was spent on capital works and facilities maintenance.It has not been possible to provide the information for Brunei in the time available, and I will write to the hon. Member once it has been collated.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions: Single People

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of single old age pensioners who currently rely solely on basic state pension for income.

Guy Opperman: The basic State Pension applies to people who reached State Pension age before the 6th April 2016. We estimate that 2% of single pensioners in the UK had income from only the basic State Pension in 2017/18. Pensioners who receive any income of any amount from sources other than the basic State Pension have not been counted in the 2%, except for some seasonal payments these individuals may additionally receive (including Winter Fuel Payment and Christmas Bonus).

Occupational Health: Construction

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that construction companies of all sizes provide at least one employee with occupational health awareness training.

Justin Tomlinson: All employers, including construction companies, are already required through existing legislation to ensure employees have appropriate occupational health related training. Employers have a general duty to provide, so far as is reasonably practicable, appropriate information, instruction and training as necessary to ensure the health of their employees. This training must be relevant, proportionate and effective so that employees are aware of the health hazards they face and the measures in place to control the risks arising from them. This training can be undertaken in several ways, including via an existing national construction industry training framework. The Health and Safety Executive provides further information on training to assist employers in complying with their legal duties: http://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/delivering/do/organising/training.htm.

Pensioners: Personal Independence Payment

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, from what date pensioners will no longer have to undertake regular personal independence payment reassessments.

Justin Tomlinson: As announced, all Personal Independence Payment claimants of State Pension age and above will be placed on an ongoing award with a light touch review at 10 years, unless notified of a change of circumstance. We are working to implement this change as soon as possible and expect this to occur by late spring 2019.

Asbestos: Compensation

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to extend compensation schemes for asbestos-related health problems caused by an individual’s work place environment where the original employer or insurers cannot be traced.

Justin Tomlinson: There are already compensation schemes for asbestos-related health problems caused by an individual’s work place environment. The Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (1979 Act Scheme) provides lump sum compensation payments to people who contract, through work, one of five dust-related diseases but who cannot claim civil damages from their employer through the courts. The dust-related diseases that are covered, of which most are directly related to asbestos exposure, are: diffuse mesothelioma; pneumoconiosis (including asbestosis, silicosis and kaolinosis); byssinosis; diffuse pleural thickening and lung cancer if accompanied by asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening. Whilst the Scheme ensures that sufferers receive compensation whilst they, themselves, can still benefit from it, the Scheme is also open to dependants where a sufferer has not been able to make a claim before they die. Dependants are paid a lower amount than that for someone who actually has the disease. There are no plans to extend eligibility to this Scheme. The Mesothelioma Act 2014 established the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS). The DMPS makes lump sum payments to people who contract diffuse mesothelioma from negligent exposure to asbestos in the workplace, but are unable to pursue a civil claim because their former employer no longer exists and their former employer’s insurer cannot be traced. The DMPS is funded by a levy paid by insurers who are active in the Employer’s Liability insurance market.This Scheme makes payments to eligible sufferers of diffuse mesothelioma only. Diffuse mesothelioma is always fatal and always caused by asbestos, therefore, a simple and straightforward payment scheme can be put in place. Other asbestos-related diseases have more uncertainties regarding cause, severity and aggravation by other factors and this complexity is not compatible with a straightforward tariff-based scheme such as the DMPS.There are no plans to extend eligibility to the DMPS.

Food Banks: Scotland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the level of foodbank use in Scotland.

Will Quince: The Department for Work and Pensions has not made an assessment of the levels of foodbank use in Scotland.The welfare system provides a strong safety net for those who need it, spending over £95 billion a year on welfare benefits for people of working age. This includes a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans as an additional safeguard for those who need them. Jobcentre mangers have discretion to work with food banks in their local area; and we are exploring how to build on current good practice to make it as easy as possible for food banks to identify and refer back to the local Jobcentre any customers who may not be receiving the full formal support to which they are entitled

Work Capability Assessment

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons her Department does not undertake a single capability for work assessment for benefit claimants instead of multiple assessments when claimants are applying for more than one benefit.

Justin Tomlinson: We are committed to assessing people with health conditions and disabilities fairly and accurately, helping people to access the right support.Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)/Universal Credit (UC) are paid for different purposes with different assessment criteria. PIP is designed to help people with long-term health conditions or disabilities to live independently, whereas ESA/UC is to support people with health conditions or disabilities who are not able to work, and support them towards work where possible. Therefore, we have separate assessments in place, but only the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) in ESA/UC is used to assess capability for work.The Secretary of State recently announced our intention to test the feasibility of using a single assessment to determine eligibility for ESA/UC and PIP where claims have been made for both benefits. We want to establish if its introduction would improve the customer experience and to ensure it delivers high quality, accurate outcomes.

Employment and Support Allowance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to revise the ESA65B letter to GPs to make it clear that a patient may appeal a fit for work decision made through a work capability assessment and a fit note is needed for the patient to obtain employment and support allowance payments until the appeal is heard.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department is updating the current ESA65B letter, with input from medical organisations, to clarify when a fit note should be provided for Employment and Support Allowance purposes.

Employment and Support Allowance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which bodies record how many ESA65B letters have been sent to GPs in (a) the Brighton and Hove area (b) other areas since the wording of that letter was revised; and if he will take steps to obtain and publish that information.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department does not hold information on the number of ESA65B letters sent to GPs.The ESA65B letter is normally automatically issued to GPs by the Department’s IT system in every case where an Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimant has been found ‘fit for work’ following a Work Capability Assessment (WCA).If a claimant states that they do not agree to information about the determination of their WCA being shared with their GP, the claim will be maintained clerically and the papers noted that the letter is not to be issued.The latest ESA statistics, which show the number of claimants found fit for work, can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-march-2019

Support for Mortgage Interest

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of replacing the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme with a loans-based system from April 2018.

Will Quince: Support for Mortgage Interest is designed to provide protection against the threat of repossession. The new loans system provides exactly the same level of support and provides exactly the same level of protection from repossession as the previous system. We continue to work closely with the lending industry to ensure the scheme delivers its intended aim. The conversion of SMI from a benefit to a loan is estimated to save around £140m in welfare spending. The Department is using evidence from a number of sources to assess the impact of the conversion to a loan on an on-going basis, including management information on claimant take up and feedback from stakeholder groups, including via our regular liaison with UK Finance, to assess whether there are unintended consequences for particular groups.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department ensuring that (a) work capability and (b) personal independence payment assessments are undertaken by suitably qualified staff.

Justin Tomlinson: Health Professionals that carry out Work Capability and Personal Independence Payment assessments on behalf of the department must have the following qualifications and experience: • are an occupational therapist, nurse (level 1), physiotherapist, doctor or (paramedic - PIP only)• fully registered with the relevant licensing body (doctors must have a licence to practise)• the licensing body has not placed restrictions on the health professional's registration• at least 2 years post full registration experience. Health Professionals are subject to a rigorous recruitment process followed by a comprehensive training programme in disability assessment for both physical and mental health conditions and have to be approved by the department. Health Professionals are then required to complete a programme of continuing professional development.

Children: Maintenance

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Deduction from Earnings Orders have been set up at the point of application since changes were made to the collection and enforcement powers of the Child Maintenance Service in (a) the UK (b) Scotland and (c) Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency in the last 12 months.

Will Quince: Information on whether a Deduction from Earnings Order was set up at the point of application is not readily available and to provide it will incur disproportionate cost.You might be interested in Table 11: Enforcement Actions which highlights Enforcement Actions used by the Child Maintenance Service, including the number of ongoing Deduction from Earnings Orders or Requests.These statistics are published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme

Children: Maintenance

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many formal complaints have been made to the Child Maintenance Service in respect of collecting arrears in (a) the UK (b) Scotland and (c) Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency; and if she will make a statement.

Will Quince: The Department does not hold information relating to complaints made to the Child Maintenance service in Northern Ireland and cannot therefore provide information for the UK. Information on the number of complaints made to the Child Maintenance Service in Scotland and the Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency that relate to the collection of arrears is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. You might be interested in Table 17: Complaints which highlights the number of complaints received by the Child Maintenance Service (in Great Britain) each quarter.These statistics are published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme

State Retirement Pensions: Automated Credit Transfer

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on paying state pensions into a bank account held at a local post office.

Guy Opperman: Since January 2017, 99% of banks personal customers are able to withdraw cash, deposit cash and cheques, and make balance enquiries free of charge at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,600 branches. The Government is committed to helping more people move towards, and benefit from, mainstream banking. The DWPs standard Method of Payment is to pay electronically into a bank account, building society account, credit union account, internet based account or a basic bank account of the customer’s choice. This provides a safe, modern and reliable method of payment, which gives customers greater choice about where and when they collect their money. For people who do not have access to a mainstream account, the Department currently offers two exception payment methods and this includes Post Office card account which enables payment of benefit and pension into an account which is held at a local post office.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April to question 236986 on Employment Schemes: Young People, what specific measures and outcome data have been collected in management information for the Youth Obligation.

Alok Sharma: Management Information for the Youth Obligation Support Programme was collected and covers claimants who were on the programme as of the end of January 2019. The specific measures and outcome data related to the Youth Obligation Support Programme collected for each of these claimants are: Journey through the programmeDate started the Youth Obligation Support Programme journeyIAP Workshop 1 date of attendanceIAP Workshop 2 date of attendance5 month stocktake assessment date of attendance6 month interview date of attendanceDate ended the Youth Obligation Support Programme journey EasementsWhether the claimant was on an easement or an exclusion appliesThe type of easement or exclusion ProvisionReferral to ESOLReferral to Work ExperienceReferral to a TraineeshipReferral to an ApprenticeshipReferral to Sector Based Work AcademyReferral to a Scottish / Welsh devolved provision OutcomeReason journey endedDate of job (if applicable) We are now analysing this data and this is in the process of being quality assured before we consider plans to publish this data.

Children: Maintenance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the child maintenance service uses a person's gross income and not take home pay when making maintenance calculations.

Will Quince: When the Child Maintenance Service makes a calculation it is based initially on gross income information received directly from HM Revenue and Customs. Taking information directly from HMRC allows us to capture a wide range of income types received by paying parents. Basing the assessment on gross income data has enabled the Child Maintenance Service to significantly speed up the set-up of new cases which can be key to securing regular payments.

Universal Credit

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of advance repayments of universal credit on the (a) household income and (b) levels of debt among claimants.

Alok Sharma: Advances are not loans; they are an interest free payment benefit advance, available to help people who need immediate financial support, which is then recovered over an agreed period. The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that the recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. In January 2018 we increased the amount available for advances from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the total award. From October 2021 we are increasing the recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months, further supporting those in financial need. Furthermore, if a claimant feels that they are experiencing financial hardship because of the amount that is being deducted from their Universal Credit award, they can ask the Department to consider reducing their deductions. From October 2019, the overall maximum level of deductions that can be taken from a Universal Credit award will be reduced from 40% to 30% of the claimant’s Standard Allowance. The Money and Pension Service also provides debt advice and money guidance to claimants if they need support managing their money.

Universal Credit

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237589, what the level of uptake has been by universal credit claimants of the guidance services offered by the Money and Pension Service.

Alok Sharma: From January to March 2019 around 9300 individuals visited the Money Manager tool for Universal Credit claimants, hosted on the Money Advice Service website. Additionally, over the same period, The Money and Pension Service money guidance contact centre was contacted around 1100 times regarding Universal Credit.

Universal Credit: Private Rented Housing

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether an assessment has been made of the standard of accommodation that universal credit claimants are able to rent in the private sector; and if she will make a statement.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made in respect of the standard of accommodation for specific types of tenant.

Poverty: Children

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the benefit freeze on child poverty rates.

Will Quince: An Impact Assessment of the benefit freeze was published in 2015. The Welfare Reforms such as the benefit freeze were designed to incentivise parents to choose to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows that work is the best route out of poverty. Children in workless households are five time more likely to be in poverty than those in households where all adults were working.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an estimate of the cost of abolishing the five week wait for universal credit claimants.

Alok Sharma: The assessment period and payment structure of Universal Credit is integral to the overall design, which requires an assessment period of a month to assess earnings. Universal Credit payments are designed to mirror the world of work, with monthly payments reflecting the way many working people are paid. This model of monthly payments allows claimants to take responsibility for budgeting their own income and helps prepare them for getting back to work. Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income falls, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award. No claimant has to go five weeks without receiving support, as advances, worth up to 100 per cent of a claimant’s indicative award, are available up front, if there is need. Advances are paid back over a period of 12 months and in the Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that from October 2021, the payback period for these advances will be extended further, up to 16 months. This is just one of a number of measures the Department has put in place to support claimants such as paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.

Department for Work and Pensions: Ministers

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into by his Department in each of the last five years in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Minister in her Department.

Will Quince: DWP does not have any record of entering into non-disclosure agreements in the stated circumstances.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Solid Fuels: Heating

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2018 to Question 184901 on Solid Fuels: Heating, when he plans to announce the results of the consultation on cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I intend to publish the formal response to this consultation soon.

Sheep

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support the profitability of sheep farming.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government remains committed to a successful and resilient sheep sector and is confident of the sector’s ability to thrive outside of the EU. We are confident that the measures contained within the Agriculture Bill will enable the sheep industry and other farming sectors to improve their productivity and competitiveness, while also improving our environment. As any responsible Government would, we are preparing for the possibility of no deal, which is why we have contingency plans in place to minimise disruption for the sheep sector as much as possible in that eventuality.

Water: Pollution

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with farmers on water pollution from fertilisers.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Policy relating to water pollution from agricultural activity is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Secretary of State meets farmers regularly to discuss a variety of important issues, including water pollution caused by agriculture. Defra has recently run several public consultations relevant to water pollution from agriculture, including from fertiliser use. Farmers have been invited to contribute to the Dame Glenys Stacy review of farm inspections and the Clean Air Strategy. Farmers will also play a crucial part in delivering the next River Basin Management Plans and will be engaged throughout the process. The Secretary of State will continue to meet farming and agricultural representatives to discuss the future role they can play in protecting the water environment.

Air Pollution: Nottinghamshire

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to tackle air pollution in Nottinghamshire.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This Government has taken strong action to improve air quality across the UK, including in Nottinghamshire. On 20 November 2018, the Government approved Nottingham City Council’s plan to deliver compliance with legal limits of NO2 in the shortest possible time by retrofitting 171 buses with technology to reduce emissions (funded through the Government’s Clean Bus Technology Fund) and changing the age and emissions policy for hackney carriages and supporting an increase in low emission taxis. £1 million from the Government’s Clean Air Fund has been awarded to provide a licensing discount for drivers, a taxi rank with charging points, fund home chargers and expand the council’s ‘try before you buy’ scheme. The Government has already provided Nottingham with funding to support the conversion of the Council’s fleet.[1] In addition to Nottingham City Council’s plan, which addresses the worst NO2 exceedances in Nottinghamshire, the Government has provided funding for a range of initiatives across the region which will improve air quality, including:- £1.4 million to retrofit 112 buses in Nottinghamshire County Council (Clean Bus Technology Fund)[2];- £7.9 million to support the purchase of ultra-low emission buses and supporting infrastructure in Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council (Low Emission Bus Scheme 2015 and Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme 2018)[3]&[4]; and- £6.1 million to support Nottingham City Council (partnering with Nottinghamshire County Council and Derby City Council) becoming a Go Ultra Low City[5]. [1] The Government approves Nottingham’s air quality plan: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-approves-nottinghams-air-quality-plan[2] The Government funding boost for bus industry in drive to improve air quality: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-funding-boost-for-bus-industry-in-drive-to-improve-air-quality[3] Low Emission Bus Scheme 2015: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/541695/low-emission-bus-scheme-winning-bidders.csv/preview[4] Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme 2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774207/ultra-low-emission-bus-scheme-winning-bidders.csv/preview[5] Go Ultra Low Nottingham: https://www.transportnottingham.com/driving/ultra-low-emission-vehicles/

Dogs: Smuggling

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2019 to Question 231392, on Dogs: Smuggling, what plans the Government has to (a) develop its long-term strategy for pet travel and (b) to deter puppy smuggling after the UK leaves the EU.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2019 to Question 231392, on Dogs: Smuggling, what plans his Department has to tighten regulations to tackle the illegal importation of dogs into the UK.

David Rutley: Defra is considering a number of options for increased deterrent and improved enforcement as part of a long term strategy for pet travel. Stricter penalties, including the possibility of introducing Fixed Penalty Notices, are being considered. We are also evaluating the benefits of ensuring visual checks on all travelling pets, besides the documentary and identification checks that all pets are currently subject to at the UK border.In July 2018, Defra hosted a well-attended workshop with key stakeholders from national and local government, NGOs, transport carriers, veterinary groups and others, including the Animal Health and Welfare Board of England, Border Force, RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and Canine and Feline Sector Group.Through group discussions throughout the day, ideas for a 2030 vision were identified under five themes: Animal Welfare; Biosecurity; Enforcement; Consumer Demand; Sales & Licensing. These ideas, and others generated through ongoing work in this area, will inform the future long term strategy for pet travel.Defra is committed to tackling the puppy smuggling journey from end to end – putting the spotlight on both supply and demand. We continue to work with border enforcement partner agencies, including Border Force, to ensure our enforcement work keeps pace with this evolving crime.After the UK leaves the EU, the rules will not change in the short term for pets entering the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme or commercial import rules. However, looking to the future, leaving the EU will open up new opportunities for managing our own pet travel arrangements, including ensuring there are robust controls on disease and animal welfare. Defra is considering a number of options for increased deterrent and targeted enforcement as part of a long term strategy for pet travel.

UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to ensure the UK meets its targets under the Global Convention on Biological Diversity; and what assessment his has Department has made of the UK's progress towards meeting those targets.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government’s report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on progress with current targets and commitments was published in March. It can be viewed at: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-7731 Of the 19 targets assessed, 5 were on track and 14 showed progress though at an insufficient rate. The targets are multi-faceted and global in scope. As such not all targets can be achieved by individual countries alone; they require collective action. Target 10, for example, requires countries to minimize anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs and other vulnerable ecosystems. The UK is making progress with protecting coral reefs and restoring other vulnerable ecosystems such as peatland, but they remain vulnerable to climate change. The real value of the targets is in driving positive change across the world and the report sets out clear areas of progress in the UK on which we are determined to build. Domestic biodiversity policy is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only, except in relation to our plans internationally. On land, over 93% of our protected sites, covering over 1 million hectares, are now in good condition or have management in place to restore their condition. Over the last 2 years, we have already introduced funding for peatland ecosystem restoration and woodland expansion as a contribution to climate change mitigation. At sea, we are putting management measures in place to protect existing MPAs and expanding our network of sites. We have consulted on a third tranche of 41 Marine Conservation Zones. Sites to be designated will be in place by 7 June. Our agencies and non-Departmental bodies are working on species recovery projects with landowning and conservation partners, for example on freshwater pearl mussel, short-haired bumblebee and stone curlew. The ongoing declines in nature are a global problem that need a global solution. That is why the UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing a global post-2020 framework under the CBD that is ambitious and transformational. Our Darwin Initiative supports global action by providing grants to protect biodiversity and the natural environment, with £10.6 million awarded in 2018. The UK Government has committed to protecting the ocean, and has called for at least 30 per cent of the ocean to be in MPAs by 2030.

Smuggling: Dogs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of longer sentences for people found guilty of puppy smuggling.

David Rutley: The Government has zero tolerance for unscrupulous dealers and breeders who abuse the Pet Travel Scheme to traffic underage puppies into the UK. This is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to the smuggled dogs and puts the health of pets and people in the UK at risk. Defra is working hard to tackle the problem through a comprehensive approach that seeks to target both the supply and demand of illegally imported dogs. This approach includes international engagement, enforcement, public communications and tighter regulation. We are considering a number of options for improved enforcement as part of a long term strategy for pet travel. This includes the possibility of introducing Fixed Penalty Notices. We are committed to the highest standards of animal welfare and the Government has announced that it will increase the maximum custodial penalty for animal cruelty from 6 months to 5 years imprisonment as soon as Parliamentary time allows. This will help deter those motivated to traffic underage puppies into the UK at the expense of their welfare.

River Itchen: Atrazine

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the incidence of atrazine in the River Itchen near the Alresford Salads factory.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) monitors groundwater boreholes in the surrounding area of the Alre catchment (where Alresford Salads factory is located), and in the principal River Itchen, for atrazine and its breakdown products. The EA therefore holds monitoring data on atrazine and its concentrations for the River Itchen and groundwater in the Alre catchment, including self-monitoring data provided by Alresford Salads. The data confirms that riverine concentrations of atrazine within the Itchen are consistent with atrazine concentrations detected in groundwater. The data shows a reduction in atrazine concentrations over time, and consistently below the Environmental Quality Standard, Drinking Water Standard and Predicted No Effect Concentration. Atrazine is a herbicide that no longer has EU approval for use. Its use was restricted in 2006 and completely withdrawn in 2007 in the UK.

Water Abstraction

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when next he plans to review the abstraction regime.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government will review its abstraction plan in 2021.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to safeguard the welfare of wild animals touring with travelling circuses in the event that the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 expire before a ban on the use of those animals in circuses is in place.

David Rutley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Oxford and West Abingdon, Layla Moran, on 16 October 2018 to PQ 176633.

Water Abstraction

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the water abstraction plan.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government will review its abstraction plan in 2021. A report to Parliament on the progress on abstraction since 2014, will be published later this year.

Air Pollution: Schools

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on levels of air pollution of road closures near schools.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Local authorities undertake local monitoring of air pollution.

Air Pollution: Nurseries and Schools

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to (a) limit vehicle emissions and (b) reduce the levels of toxic air-borne particulates near schools and nurseries.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is fully committed to tackling air pollution. We have put in place a £3.5 billion plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions, and have also published our new world leading Clean Air Strategy which the World Health Organization has praised as “an example for the rest of the world to follow”. Through the 2017 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) plan, we are working with a number of local authorities to introduce measures which will reduce exposure to vehicle emissions in order to achieve compliance with legal NO2 limits in the shortest time possible. The plan sets out that we have committed £3.5 billion to support air quality and cleaner transport. This includes over £67 million invested since 2013 in retrofitting vehicles (mainly buses) with pollution reducing technology and help to reduce vehicle emissions. We have pledged to end the sale of new conventional diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2040 – the Road to Zero strategy published by the Department for Transport last year sets out new measures to help us achieve our 2040 mission. We have also been closely involved in the development of new European vehicle emission tests and encourage their early adoption. The Government provides support for local authorities to tackle locally identified air pollution issues as they are best placed to target action to improve air quality in their area, which includes around schools and nurseries. Local authorities have a duty to monitor and assess air quality and to take action to reduce pollution where these breach statutory limits. They already have discretionary powers to restrict car access to schools and enforce anti-idling laws in problem areas like outside schools. Defra’s Air Quality Grant Programme provides funding to local authorities for projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions which may include local action targeting schools and nurseries. Defra has awarded over £60 million in funding since the air quality grant started in 1997.

Recycling

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of sorting machines at recycling centres and their ability to distinguish between pieces of paper and flat pieces of plastic.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government has not carried out such an assessment. Well-managed sorting facilities are generally able to distinguish and sort paper and plastics effectively. The most recent data published on materials recycling facilities sorting shows that 97.9% of material sorted as paper in England in the third quarter of 2018 was target material, meaning just 2.1% was contamination, such as plastic.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Arms Length Bodies

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2019 to Question 237160 on Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Secondment, how many staff have been employed at each of his Department's arm's-length bodies (a) since June 2016, (b) in the last 12 months and (c) in the last month.

David Rutley: The information relating to staff numbers in ALBs can be found in the Monthly Workforce Management Information Reports; please see the link below. https://data.gov.uk/dataset/9fb1ed1f-00c9-421b-ab18-c30c14559681/workforce-management-information-defra

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Arms Length Bodies

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2019 to Question 237159 on Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Secondment, what estimate he has made of the number of staff on secondment from his Department's arm's-length bodies who are now working on preparations for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

David Rutley: Over 80% of Defra’s agenda is affected by the UK’s departure from the EU and as a result many roles across the Defra group are now supporting work related to it, either directly or indirectly. As at 31 January 2019, Defra group had placed over 2,850 staff including fixed term appointments, interims and staff redeployed from within the group. In line with the previous questions from last week, we treat internal civil service moves as loans and moves from outside the civil service as secondments (including public servants from arm's-length bodies etc.). This includes organisations that are non-ministerial departments, executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies. Based on these criteria, Defra currently has 80 staff on secondment from arm's-length bodies working on preparations for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Food: Exports

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what preparations he has undertaken to deal with the potential introduction of (a) tariffs and (b) non-tariff barriers on British food exports when the UK leaves the EU.

David Rutley: Any tariff and non-tariff barrier on UK exports would depend on the third country’s own tariff schedule and its regulations on food imports, and also whether the UK has a trade agreement in place with that country. We expect that the EU’s most favoured nation (MFN) tariff regime would apply to UK exports in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal. We are in close discussion with industry about the potential impacts of tariffs on farming sectors.

Sheep Meat: Imports

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingencies he has put in place in the event that the UK becomes subject to the complaints procedures at the WTO with regard to quotas of lamb imports from (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In preparation for the UK’s departure from the EU, the Government has been working to establish our autonomous membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Amongst other things, this has included laying the UK’s Goods Schedule at the WTO for certification, which was done on 24 July 2018. The UK’s Schedule replicates the EU28’s bound tariffs and sets out UK specific tariff rate quota (TRQ) volumes determined by a joint EU-UK agreed apportionment methodology. The underlying principle of the approach to establishing TRQs is to maintain current levels of market access into the UK for all WTO members. Certifying the UK’s Goods Schedule is a process, and we are aware that some WTO members have expressed concern about potential impacts on existing access to trade which result from the apportionment methodology. In response, on 21 December 2018 the UK Government formally opened an Article XXVIII process under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which specifically addresses TRQs. This was done with a view to engaging directly with WTO members about their concerns, and working towards formal certification of the UK’s Goods Schedule. This process is currently underway. Defra officials have been engaging directly with officials from Australia and New Zealand since 2016. We are fully aware of their views and have established a dialogue, including negotiations through Article XXVIII, to resolve the issues that they raise. In light of this, we do not expect the UK to be subject to formal complaint procedures in relation to TRQs. However, in the unlikely event that the UK were to be challenged on this once we leave the EU, we are confident that the steps we have taken maintain the existing balance of rights and obligations and are fully consistent with WTO practice.

Nature Conservation

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) halt and (b) reverse species decline in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Domestic biodiversity policy is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only, except in relation to our plans internationally. The UK Government is taking a range of steps to both halt and reverse species decline. We protect a wide variety of our most threatened native species through the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulation 2017. These laws make it an offence to intentionally kill, injure or capture listed species, as well as damage or destroy breeding sites. Our agencies and non-Departmental bodies are working on species recovery projects with landowning and conservation partners, for example on freshwater pearl mussel, short-haired bumblebee and stone curlew.  Our 25 Year Environment Plan steps up our ambition further, setting long-term goals for recovering nature and setting out over 200 actions to enhance the environment including developing a Nature Recovery Network which will provide an expanding and increasingly connected network of places for wildlife to thrive. Our National Pollinator Strategy sets out actions to tackle risks to insect populations, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, pests and disease and climate change. We are supporting science-led restrictions on neonicotinoids, have introduced agri-environment packages to support farmers to put wild flowers back into fields, and continue to tackle threats from invasive species such as the Asian hornet. We have also consulted on an ambitious third tranche of 41 Marine Conservation Zones. Sites to be designated in this tranche will be announced and in place by 7 June. The ongoing declines in nature are a global problem that need a global solution. That is why the UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing a global post-2020 framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity that is ambitious and transformational. Our Darwin Initiative supports global action by providing grants to protect biodiversity and the natural environment, with £10.6 million awarded in 2018. Defra has contributed almost £6 million over the last three years to Darwin Plus for Overseas Territories’ biodiversity. We continue to support activities to end poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, and have recently passed new legislation to close our domestic ivory market, which will be the toughest ivory ban in Europe and one of the toughest in the world. The UK Government has committed to protecting the ocean and has called for at least 30 per cent of the ocean to be in Marine Protected Areas by 2030.

Home Office

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Minister of State for Immigration plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Tottenham dated 14 November 2018.

Caroline Nokes: I can confirm that a response was dispatched on 20 December 2018.

Metropolitan Police: Stop and Search

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were stopped and searched by the Metropolitan Police in each of the last five years; and for how many of those people was there no further action.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of stop and searches conducted by each Police Force Area in England and Wales and the number of resultant arrests. These data have been collected since 2001/02, and are published in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, and can be accessed here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/751160/stop-search-open-data-tables-ppp.odsPrior to April 2016 data on other outcomes, including no further action, were not collected. Data from 2016/17 onwards, on the number of stop and searches which resulted in no further action, are also published in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, and can be accessed here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/751163/best-use-stop-search-open-data-tables-ppp.ods

Police Pursuits

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government plans to publish the outcome of its consultation on police pursuits.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government fully recognises the difficult job that police drivers do every day to keep road users and the wider public safe. That is why we have worked closely with the police representatives, including the Federation, other government departments and groups representing road users and those advocating road safety to review the law, guidance, procedures and processes surrounding police pursuits. We will shortly announce the next steps following the consultation.

Offensive Weapons Bill: Northern Ireland

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether provisions in clauses 1 to 8 of the Offensive Weapons Bill which extend to Northern Ireland will come into force in Northern Ireland without a legislative consent motion following Royal Assent.

Victoria Atkins: The United Kingdom Government has been liaising closely with Northern Ireland departments in respect of devolved matters where provisions in the Offensive Weapons Bill may extend to Northern Ireland. Clauses 1 to 8 of the Bill relate to the sale and delivery of corrosive products to persons under 18, the delivery of corrosive products to residential premises and possession of corrosive substances.All clauses in the Bill specifically relating to devolved matters in respect of Northern Ireland are covered by separate commencement measures. Clauses 1 to 8 of the Bill will therefore be commenced by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland and associated regulations relating to these Clauses will not be commenced without Northern Ireland assembly approval.

Mental Illness: Police Custody

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Home Department, whether the Government plans to bring forward plans to increase the number of secure structures available for people with mental health problems in police custody.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government is committed to keeping mentally ill people who have committed no offence. out of police cells, and have made changes to the Mental Health Act to help ensure this. There are no plans to create any additional secure facilities within police custody settings for those with mental health problems.

UK Visas and Immigration: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the Government cancelled plans to open a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service Centre in Portsmouth.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the opening hours at Southampton UK Visa and Citizen Application Service Centre on the accessibility of that facility.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government's decision not to open a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service Centre in Portsmouth on (a) waiting times and (b) service standards at the Southampton centre.

Caroline Nokes: UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service Centres are run by Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) on behalf of UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI). There are six core sites across the UK at which enrolment services must be offered and beyond that, SSL offer a range of enhanced services, expanding enrolment services to other locations in line with their assessment of customer demand.SSL are finding a suitable location for the enhanced service in Portsmouth but in the interim, and in response to customer demand, SSL are planning to increase opening hours from two to five days a week at the Visa and Citizenship Application Service Centre in Southampton.SSL aims to offer all customers an appointment at their chosen location within five working days. UKVI continue to work closely with Sopra Steria to review appointment availability across all locations.

UK Visas and Immigration: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision not to open a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service Centre in Portsmouth on (a) employment in the city and (b) international students ability to access visa and immigration services.

Caroline Nokes: Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) is currently looking for a suitable location in Portsmouth for an enhanced version of their UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service. Until this service is in place, customers have the option of visiting the facility in Southampton and other locations in the UK.UK Visas and Immigration are currently working closely with SSL, and in consultation with the education sector, to plan effectively for the expected increased volumes associated with the student peak later in the year.

Stop and Search

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of cases where Section 60 is used result in (a) an illegal object being found and (b) a crime being detected in (i) London and (ii) England and Wales.

Mr Nick Hurd: In the year ending March 2017/18, there were 2,501 stop and searches conducted in England and Wales under Section 60 (s60) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Of these searches 202 (or 8%) resulted in an arrest, including 71 arrests for offensive weapons and 131 arrests for other reasons. 85 (or 3%) resulted in an outcome which was linked to the initial reason for conducting the search.The Metropolitan Police Service conducted 1,836 s60 searches in this period, of which 175 (or 10%) resulted in an arrest- including 55 arrests for offensive weapons and 120 arrests for other reasons. 62 (or 3%) resulted in an outcome which was linked to the initial reason for conducting the search.Full figures can be found in the annual police powers and procedures statistical release https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2018

Immigrants: Glasgow Central

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people living in Glasgow Central are designated as having no recourse to public funds.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not hold the data requested. Information on the UK's resident population is a matter for the Independent Office for National Statistics.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2019 to Question 213386 on Immigration: Computer Software, what progress his Department has made on providing access to the EU settlement scheme for people using Apple devices.

Caroline Nokes: EU citizens make a huge contribution to our economy and society, and we want them to stay. The EU Settlement Scheme enables them to do so. The application process is short and user-friendly, and is accessible on any smartphone, tablet or computer with an internet browser, including Apple devices.The ‘EU Exit: Identity Document Check’ app is an optional aspect of the service which allows applicants to prove their identity remotely.The Home Secretary confirmed over the weekend, that Apple will be making the necessary changes and the EU Exit: Identity Document Check’ app will be working on their devices by the end of the yearApplicants can also post their document and have it returned immediately upon inspection or visit one of 50 locations to have their document checked.If a person wishes to use a family, friend or employer’s Android device until the app is available on Apple then it is perfectly safe and secure for them to do so.

Slavery: Victims

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to identify victims of Modern Slavery; and what additional support the Government plans to provide for those victims.

Victoria Atkins: We are identifying more victims than ever before; 6,993 potential victims were referred into the NRM in 2018, a 36% increase on the 2017 referrals.We are working to continue to improve identification. As part of the package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism, the Home Office is leading a multi-agency review to determine how to strengthen training for First Responders on identifying and supporting victims.Through the reform programme of the NRM we have already improved the support victims receive. In February 2019, we extended the move-on period of support. Confirmed victims now receive 45 days of move on support in addition to the minimum 45 days of support received during their recovery and reflection period.

Unexplained Wealth Orders

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Unexplained Wealth Orders have been issued since their introduction.

Mr Ben Wallace: Three UWOs have been applied for, and all granted, since the UWO power came into force in January 2018.As a new tool, law enforcement and prosecutors are determined to ensure that U.W.Os are successful during their first use in the courts.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions has he had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increased funding for the Counter-Terrorism budget.

Mr Ben Wallace: The National Security Council regularly considers counter-terrorism to ensure our collective response and resources are meeting the threat.I hold regular discussions with colleagues regarding the national security threats that affect the safety and security of the UK’s citizens.The first duty of government is to keep people safe. We have increased counter-terrorism funding by 30% to £15.2 billion since 2015

Fire and Rescue Services: Emergency Calls

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce fire service emergency response times.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority in England to deploy resources based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances.Factors affecting response times can include changing traffic levels, health and safety policies and control staff typically asking more questions of the caller to better assess the risk and attendance needed.

Fire Regulations

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the number of fire safety inspectors on the fire services’ ability to carry out inspection and safety work since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work.Each fire and rescue authority is required by the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England to have in place a risk-based inspection programme and management strategy for auditing compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in their area.It is the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority to manage and reduce the fire and rescue related risks facing their communities, balancing the allocation of its resources across its prevention, protection and opera-tional response functions for the benefit of the communities they serve.Fire and rescue services are now subject to inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

Prosecutions

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the prosecution of criminals.

Mr Nick Hurd: Ministers and officials have engaged with a range of operational partners and continue to work closely with them on EU Exit planning, including in relation to cross-border cooperation on criminal justice.Regarding our future relationship with the EU, the UK has proposed an ambitious and legally binding agreement on internal security that protects mutually beneficial aspects of cooperation in this area, including practical measures to support cross-border operational cooperation and continued UK cooperation with EU law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

Crimes of Violence

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle serious violence; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: In April 2018 the Government published the Serious Violence Strategy which sets out a comprehensive set of 61 commitments and actions we are taking to tackle violent crime. This included launching a £22m Early Intervention Youth Fund which is already supporting 29 projects in England and Wales, a national knife crime media campaign - #knife free; a new National County Lines Co-ordination Centre to tackle this violent and exploitative criminal activity; and the Offensive Weapons Bill to strengthen legislation on firearms, knives and corrosive substances.In addition, on 2 October 2018 the Home Secretary announced further important measures including a consultation on a new legal duty to support a multi-agency approach to preventing and tackling serious violence, a new long term £200 million Youth Endowment Fund, and an Independent Review of Drug Misuse. On 1 April the Home Secretary launched the consultation on a public health approach to tackling violent crime. This will ensure that all parts of the Public Sector have a responsibility to help vulnerable young people. As part of this we have proposed a new statutory duty on partners across education, social services and health to work together to tackle violence. It is important that we recognise that greater law enforcement on its own will not reduce serious violence and that we must continue to focus on prevention.On 13 March the Chancellor of the Exchequer also announced that an additional £100 million funding for serious violence in 2019/20 to help the police’s immediate response to the rise in serious knife crime, and also to support investment in Violence Reduction Units, bringing together a range of agencies including health, education, social services and others, to develop a multi-agency approach in preventing serious violence altogether.Most recently, on 1 April the Prime Minister hosted the Serious Youth Violence Summit to continue to drive cross-government action to tackle serious violence. The Prime Minister will also Chair a Ministerial Taskforce, within government, focussed on improving and better coordinating our response to knife crime.

EU Nationals: Private Rented Housing

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans guidance for landlords on the implications for right to rent of the UK leaving the EU.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans guidance for employers on the implications for the right to work of the UK leaving the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The Government’s White Paper on the future skills-based immigration system makes clear that the system of checks undertaken by landlords and employers will not change prior to introduction of the new immigration system.On 1 April, guidance for employers was published on Gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employing-eu-eea-and-swiss-citizens-and-their-family-members-after-brexit . Updated guidance for landlords will be published shortly.

Visas

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment his Department has made of the tied visa system and whether it is fit for purpose.

Caroline Nokes: As set out in the UK’s Future Skills-Based Immigration System White Paper, published on 19 December, the skilled worker route will continue to require individuals to be sponsored by an employerIn line with the recommendations made by the Migration Advisory Committee, we will consider how the future system can reduce bureaucracy for employers.

Shoplifting: Birmingham Edgbaston

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support convenience retailers in Birmingham, Edgbaston to prevent shop theft.

Victoria Atkins: I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people who have applied more than once for citizenship will be refunded fees for all applications through the Windrush compensation scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The Windrush Compensation Scheme rules are available on the government website at www.gov.uk/windrush-compensationAnnex B of the rules sets out the immigration application fees for which reimbursement may be claimed under the scheme, where an application has been unsuccessful where the applicant was not able to provide sufficient evidence of their lawful status.Since it was first published on 3 April, annex B of the rules has been amended to clarify that this category includes an application for British citizenship and an application for a certificate of entitlement to a right of abode.Where an individual has made more than one relevant unsuccessful application and they meet the criteria for an award, reimbursement of fees for each application will be considered.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish all responses to the Windrush compensation scheme consultation.

Caroline Nokes: The Government’s response to the Windrush compensation scheme consultation is available on the government website at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/windrush-compensation-schemeThe response document includes a summary and analysis of the 1435 responses to the consultation received from individuals and organisations. Given the nature and number of responses to the consultation, we do not plan to publish all the responses.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how he plans to define serious criminality when determining whether to reduce or withhold an award under the Windrush compensation scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The Windrush Compensation Scheme rules are available on the government website at www.gov.uk/windrush-compensation.Paragraphs 4.5 and 4.6 of the rules set out the provisions around criminality. This provides that the Home Office may reduce or decline to make an award under the scheme to a claimant who has been convicted of an offence in respect of which they have received a sentence of imprisonment of four years or more and their offending was of such a nature that it makes it inappropriate to make an award in whole or in part. This provision does not apply to a conviction and sentence outside of the UK for conduct which on the date of the conviction was not an offence in the UK.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether each apology issued under the Windrush compensation scheme will be accompanied by a payment.

Caroline Nokes: The Windrush Compensation Scheme rules are available on the government website at www.gov.uk/windrush-compensation.Paragraph 3.1 of the rules sets out the circumstances under which an apology will be made under the Windrush compensation scheme. The Home Office will first consider whether a claimant is eligible to claim for, and entitled to receive, an award. All claimants who receive an award of compensation will receive an apology from the Home Office.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) claimants will be charged for calls to the Windrush compensation scheme helpline and (b) Home Office employees will staff that phone line.

Caroline Nokes: The Windrush Helpline can be contacted for free in the UK on 0800 678 1925. Claimants from overseas can call the helpline, or email WindrushCompensationScheme@homeoffice.gov.uk, and request to be called back.All calls are dealt with by Home Office employees.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which independent third party organisation will provide assistance to claimants of the Windrush compensation scheme.

Caroline Nokes: Claimants requiring assistance who meet the compensation scheme eligibility criteria will be referred by the Windrush Helpline to Citizens Advice, which has been contracted to assist claimants with completion of the form and gathering evidence. After referral the claimant will be contacted to arrange an appointment in person or over the phone, where the claimant is in the UK. Claimants overseas may be referred for an appointment over the phone, which will be at no cost to the claimant.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanism he is putting in place for reviewing decisions on applications to the Windrush compensation scheme; and whether claimants will have a legal route of appeal against a decision.

Caroline Nokes: The Windrush Compensation Scheme rules are available on the government website at www.gov.uk/windrush-compensation.Part 10 of the rules sets out the provisions in the event that a claimant wishes to seek a review of a decision under the scheme.In the first instance an internal review is carried out by a senior reviewer who has not been involved in the original decision. If the claimant does not agree with the outcome of the internal review, they can request that their claim is reviewed by an independent person from outside the Home Office.These provisions for review do not preclude access to existing routes of legal challenge or review available in respect of decisions made by a public authority.

Shoplifting: Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support convenience retailers in Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle constituency that have lost an estimated £152,829 due to shop theft in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: All forms of retail crime are unacceptable, and everyone has the right to feel safe at work.I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies – including the Association of Convenience Stores - and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach according to local circumstances.On 21 January I announced that we will launch a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers to strengthen our understanding of this issue, including how existing legislation is being applied.In addition, the Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated to commence this Summer.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have contacted the (a) helpline number and (b) email address provided for people requiring assistance when completing responses to the consultation on the Windrush compensation scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office helpline received 236 enquiries about the consultation on the Windrush compensation scheme during the consultation period, between 19 July and 16 November 2018. These included requests for further information or paper copies of consultation documents, questions about the consultation or about the compensation scheme. There were no specific requests for assistance in completing a consultation response.Now the scheme is open for claims, the Home Office intends to publish in due course information on the number of claims submitted, the number of claims decided, and the overall amount paid out by the scheme.

Radicalism

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of whether there are any links between the UK organisation Generation Identity and the perpetrator or perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15 March 2019.

Mr Ben Wallace: This Government is committed to countering terrorism in all its forms, including Right Wing Extremism and will continue our extensive work with international partners in support of that objective as reflected in our Counter-Terrorism strategy, CONTEST. However, it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Refugees: Children

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of time that child refugees have to wait for an initial decision on their application.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office takes seriously its safeguarding responsibilities under s55 of the Borders, Immigration and Citizen Act 2009, which requires us to act in a child’s best interest. We acknowledge that there is no specified time limit in which Unaccompanied Children cases need to be decided and maintain that the responsibility to act in a child’s best interests means more than simply speed.To promote a greater understanding and transparency of the asylum system, we are prioritising deciding unaccompanied asylum-seeking child cases, whose claims are more complex, while we develop a new set of service standards for the overall asylum claim system. We are working closely with NGOs regarding the new service standards.

Migrant Workers: Nurses and Social Workers

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to ensure the effectiveness of the recruitment policies for (a) nurses and (b) care workers from (i) EU and (ii) non-EU countries after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: In December 2018, the Government set out its proposals in “the UK’s future Skills-based Immigration System” White Paper. The White Paper proposals include a new route for skilled workers which will be open to anyone at RQF level 3 and above, irrespective of where they are applying from. This route will not be capped allowing all of those who meet our requirements to come to the UK.The White Paper also includes a transitional route for temporary workers which will be open to anyone from qualifying countries, wishing to fill positions at any skill level, for up to 12 months. We do not intend to impose a cap on the number of people wishing to use the route.

Emergency Services Network: Scotland

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on the cross-government programme to deliver the Emergency Service Network critical communications system in (a) Angus and (b) Scotland.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Emergency Services Network is being provided primarily to deliver world class critical voice and data to the emergency services to replace the aging and expensive Airwave network.To provide the necessary coverage for ESN, mobile network operator EE is building over 400 new sites and upgrading its entire existing network to 4G.Across the whole of Scotland, EE is deploying over 350 sites for the ESN programme, with 277 having been activated to date. The new 4G coverage these sites deliver, in addition to the upgrading of existing masts, will be available to EE’s commercial customers in addition to the emergency services. In Angus, EE has deployed and activated one new site.For all new sites being built by EE, they are encouraging sharing with the other MNOs through a clear and well-understood industry process, in line with our State Aid requirements. In addition to the new sites being provided by EE, the ESN programme is responsible for providing approximately 300 sites in the most remote and rural areas of Great Britain as part of the Extended Area Service (EAS) project.Twelve of these EAS sites are planned in Angus and these are composed of nine greenfield sites and three sites shared with the existing Airwave service. Construction is forecast to start on the first greenfield site this month, with a second site in May, followed by three sites beginning construction in June, one in July, two in August and the final one in November.Across the whole of Scotland 123 EAS sites are planned, including 75 greenfield sites, 30 sites shared with the existing Airwave service, and 18 sites shared with other mobile network operators. Of these 18 shared sites, 11 are proposed as shared sites with the Scottish Government 4G infill programme.Of the 75 greenfield sites across Scotland, six have now completed construction, and construction is underway on a further 11 sites. The remainder are at various different stages of the necessary planning and legal processes before construction can begin.

Generation Identity

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of whether there are any (a) extremist and (b) terrorist connections on the part of the UK organisation Generation Identity.

Mr Ben Wallace: The government takes Right Wing extremism and terrorism in the UK seriously. We will continously develop our understanding of the threat so that we can respond to it appropriately. We do not comment on specific assessments.

Shoplifting: Gillingham and Rainham

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support convenience retailers in Gillingham and Rainham from shop theft; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: All forms of retail crime are unacceptable, and everyone has the right to feel safe at work.I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies – including the Association of Convenience Stores - and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach according to local circumstances.On 5 April Government launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers to strengthen our understanding of this issue, including how existing legislation is being applied.In addition, the Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated to commence this Summer.

Wales Office

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will meet with Welsh MPs from all political parties to discuss the (a) design of and (b) consultation process for the shared prosperity fund.

Alun Cairns: I recently met the all-party group for post-Brexit funding for nations, regions and local areas to discuss the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. As I said at Wales Oral Questions on 3 April, I would be happy to meet with the honourable Gentleman and colleagues to discuss the Fund.

Brexit: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many meetings he has had with Welsh Government in which preparations and readiness in Wales for the UK leaving the EU without a deal have been discussed.

Alun Cairns: I frequently meet with Welsh Government Ministers who attend the Joint Ministerial Committee (European Negotiations) and regularly attend the European Union Exit and Trade (Preparedness) cabinet sub-Committee to discuss these matters.

Scotland Office

Food Banks: Scotland

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he plans to visit a food bank in April 2019.

David Mundell: I currently have no plans to visit a food bank in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland in April 2019.

Church Commissioners

Lambeth Conference

Sir John Hayes: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, if the Archbishop of Canterbury will invite bishops from the Anglican Church in North America and the Anglican Church in Brazil to the Lambeth 2020 conference.

Dame Caroline Spelman: I have met recently with the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss attendance at the Lambeth 2020 conference.The publication of information about those invited to the Lambeth Conference in 2020 is a matter for the Archbishop of Canterbury, not the Church Commissioners.

Voting Behaviour

Sir John Hayes: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to improve democratic participation among its lay members.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church of England encourages responsible democratic participation in its schools and parishes, as one of the stakeholders involved with UK Parliament Week, and as a provider of hustings and other forms of engagement at election times. The General Synod is the Church’s own national legislative body, to which lay members can be elected. The Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament is expected soon to consider a Church Measure that will reform and simplify Church representation rules on elections for Parochial Church Councils, Deanery and Diocesan Synods.

Pregnancy

Sir John Hayes: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support women with unplanned pregnancies.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church of England provides a wide range of pastoral care through its national network of 12,600 parishes and 18,000 active ordained clergy assisted by 10,000 licensed lay ministers. This care is offered to all regardless of Church affiliation or religious belief. The most effective pastoral care builds a relationship through which a person can be accompanied through difficult situations - rather than offering a service in which the person becomes the client.Pastoral care at parish level is extended to women with unwanted pregnancies on the basis that ‘Every possible support, especially by Church members, needs to be given to those who are pregnant in difficult circumstances and care, support and compassion must be shown to all whether or not they continue with their pregnancy.’ (General Synod July 2017: written answer was given by the Chair of Mission and Public Affairs Council in response to a question on the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act).

Church Services: Attendance

Sir John Hayes: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to increase attendance at church services.

Dame Caroline Spelman: Strategic Development Funding has been made available to develop the capacity of Church of England dioceses to increase church attendance. 2017 a total of £44million was awarded to 27 projects in 20 dioceses. In 2018, £61.6 million was awarded to 20 new projects in 20 dioceses. One third of these new initiatives focus on work with children and young people, and the majority are located in deprived areas. In 2018 the Church of England formed an Evangelism and Discipleship Department, based at Church House, Westminster, to enable a strategic national approach by developing specific interventions and resources to enable and equip its million regular worshippers to be able to talk about and live out their faith. This supplements work at a Diocesan level to develop more growing churches: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/evangelism-and-discipleship The Church of England is developing 1,000 new evangelists in the over the next five years. Other measures include working with a number of dioceses around a Culture of Invitation to help parishioners to invite people to their church ( http://www.cultureofinvitation.com/ ), helping churches to ensure that those coming for baptisms, funerals and weddings are welcomed and invited to continue attending their local church (https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/christenings ), and the Talking Jesus Course, which is a simple 6 week video-based course to inspire ordinary Christians to share their faith in natural and relevant ways: https://talkingjesus.org/ Seven million people engaged with the Church of England via digital media channels last Christmas through the ‘Follow the Star campaign’. Two million used it to identify a church to attend through the resource www.achurchnearyou.com The Church’s use of digital and social media has won awards for innovation, and there are now worship and liturgy resources available via Alexa and a variety of Apps.

Department for Exiting the European Union

EU Budget: Contributions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2019 to Question 236355, on EU Budget: Contributions, what the Government's legal obligations are in relation to the financial settlement with the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Kwasi Kwarteng: In the event that we leave the EU without a deal, the financial settlement as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement would no longer apply.The Government recognises that the UK has obligations to the EU, and the EU obligations to the UK, that will survive the UK’s withdrawal—and that these need to be resolved. But in a no deal scenario we would need to determine how to do so.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Visits Abroad

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many times he has travelled to Brussels to meet EU officials since his appointment.

Mr Robin Walker: Since his appointment, The Secretary of State has travelled to Brussels four times to meet with EU officials:11th February 201918th February 201921st February 20195th March 2019The Secretary of State also met with EU officials in Strasbourg on two occasions, 12th February 2019 and 11th March 2019.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Ministers

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into by his Department in each of the last five years in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Minister in his Department.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Department for Exiting the European Union has not issued any non-disclosure agreements to employees since the Department was created.

Department for International Trade

Trade: Republic of Ireland

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of whether not applying tariffs on goods travelling between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement would be compliant with World Trade Organisation rules.

George Hollingbery: The Government is confident that it is acting within its rights and obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In developing our policy for the Northern Ireland border, alongside WTO rules, we have also had to take into consideration a broader set out of international obligations. We are confident that the unique social, political and economic circumstances in Northern Ireland justify the temporary measures that the Government is taking, based on existing exceptions under WTO rules.

Trade Agreements

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with potential trading partners on uprating the pensions of UK pensioners living in frozen countries as part of any new trade agreement after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

George Hollingbery: Discussions with potential trading partners on future bilateral trade agreements have focussed on building a shared understanding of both countries’ ambitions for future trading arrangements. The subject of frozen state pensions has not formed part of our trade discussions with potential trading partners. This policy area is primarily a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions.

beoutQ

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he has received on alleged infringement of broadcast rights by Saudi Arabian-based media company beoutQ; and what steps he has taken in response to those representations.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he has made to the Government of Saudi Arabia on the potential implications of the activities of (a) Saudi Arabian media company beoutQ, (b) the founder of that company Dr Raed Khusheim and (c) that company's satellite broadcaster Arabsat.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he has made to the Government of Saudi Arabia about the alleged international broadcast rights infringement activities of (a) Saudi Arabian-based media company beoutQ, (b) that company's co-founder Dr Raed Khusheim and (c) that company's satellite broadcaster Arabsat.

Graham Stuart: We have received representations from a number of UK-based companies about this matter and HM Ambassador in Riyadh has raised this on a number of occasions with Ministers in the Saudi Arabian Government.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Art Works

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a list of the art, cultural and folk artefacts that overseas Governments have requested be returned to their country of origin and which are currently held in (a) public institutions and (b) private collections in the UK.

Michael Ellis: We do not hold the information requested. Decisions about items in collections are a matter for institutions themselves - and in the case of national museums, statutory duty lies with the board of trustees who operate independently from government at arm’s length. In addition, the government has no locus over private collections.

Advertising: Statistics

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the use of potentially misleading statistics in advertising.

Margot James: Advertising in the UK is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the industry’s independent regulator, which enforces the Advertising Codes through a system of self-regulation and co-regulation with Ofcom. The Codes apply to all media, including broadcast and online. They incorporate all relevant legislation and set standards for accuracy and honesty to which advertisers must adhere, including specific conditions on advertising to children, causing offence and social responsibility. The ASA is recognised by the government, the courts and trading standards as the ‘established means’ for the enforcement of misleading advertising, and the Codes include rules designed to ensure that advertisers do not mislead consumers. It has a range of sanctions it can take against non-compliant advertisers and, as a last resort, can refer some to Trading Standards.

Gaming Machines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has made to undertake an impact assessment of (a) gambling behaviour, (b) product displacement and (c) harm reduction following the stake reduction for Category B2 gaming machines.

Mims Davies: The Government published an Impact Assessment, together with its response to the Consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures, in May 2018, including assumptions regarding behaviour change, displacement and harm reduction following the implementation of the sub-category B2 gaming machine maximum stake cut. The Impact Assessment can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures We are committed to robustly monitoring and evaluating the impact of the regulatory change.

Gaming Machines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what actions his Department will take in response to the emergence of new high-stakes roulette-style games in betting shops following the stake reduction for Category B2 gaming machines.

Mims Davies: The roulette-style products launched on 1 April by two high-street bookmakers were withdrawn the following day after a warning from the Gambling Commission. The Commission is continuing to investigate the circumstances and the operators could still face regulatory action. The Commission may also investigate key senior staff at bookmakers who are responsible for bringing those products to market. The Government and the Gambling Commission expect industry to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the new regulations to ensure that consumers continue to be protected from harm.

Internet

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many UK-based organisations or companies have a .eu domain name.

Margot James: The number of UK-based registrations of a .eu domain name is reported in the annual accounts of the .eu registry, EURid. As of Q4 2018, there were 241,000 UK registrations of .eu. Some registrants may have more than one registration, therefore the actual number of registrants is likely to be lower than the figures reported for the UK.

Mobile Phones: Fees and Charges

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has sought guarantees from telecommunications companies that they will not increase charges on UK consumers to (a) use their mobile phone in the EU and (b) call or text an EU country in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: In the event of a deal, surcharge-free roaming for UK consumers in the EU would continue to be guaranteed during the Implementation Period. In the event that we leave the EU without a deal, the costs that EU mobile operators would be able to charge UK operators for providing roaming services would no longer be regulated. Four mobile operators - O2, EE, Three and Vodafone - have all stated they have no current plans to change their approach to mobile roaming for their customers roaming in the EU.

Cricket: Females

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help support local cricket clubs to promote the participation of girls in that sport.

Mims Davies: Sport England have invested £9 million in the England and Wales Cricket Board for the period 2017/21. A proportion of this investment will be used to drive the participation of girls’ cricket, for example developing flexible cricket formats to strengthen the pathway from absolute beginner through to performance level, and investing in coaching, officiating and sports science & medicine. It is important that girls have access to the right sporting opportunities, both in and out of school. This is something government committed to tackle in the Sporting Future strategy, and which will be addressed through the new School Sport and Activity Action Plan.

Cricket: Females

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding from the public purse has been made available to cricket clubs in the Easington constituency to support the development of girls cricket in the most recent period for which information is available.

Mims Davies: Sport England invested £5,000 in 2010/11 into Sunderland AFC Foundation for Easington Football Development and Multi Sports Coaching, which included cricket. This funding was part of the Sportsmatch programme.

Loneliness: Young People

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of levels of loneliness among young people.

Mims Davies: As announced in last year’s loneliness strategy, ‘A connected society - A strategy for tackling loneliness’, and in addition to DCMS’s annual Community Life Survey, the ONS has undertaken further research on childhood loneliness. The Community Life Survey results for 2017-18, first published in July 2018, showed that 16-34 year olds were more likely to report feeling often or always lonely than those aged over 50. This survey showed that 8% of 16 to 24 year olds feel often or always lonely. In 2018, the Children’s Society found that 11% of 10-15 year olds feel ‘often’ lonely. The ONS published another report on childhood loneliness on the 3rd April this year.

Loneliness: Young People

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle loneliness among young people.

Mims Davies: Jointly with the Co-op Foundation, the Government has invested £3.5m in projects tackling youth loneliness in 2018-19 and 2019-20. In addition a number of new policies related to loneliness amongst young people were announced in last year’s strategy, ‘A connected society - A strategy for tackling loneliness’, including DCMS allocating £100,000 for research to improve understanding of how to address youth loneliness through uniformed youth groups’ work and the Department for Education’s new relationships education guidance featuring loneliness and social connections.

Loneliness: Young People

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential link between loneliness and levels of well-being among young people.

Mims Davies: The Office for National Statistics report on ‘Children’s and young people’s experiences of loneliness’, published in December 2018, found evidence that children who reported “low” satisfaction with their health said they “often” felt lonely. This study also reported qualitative evidence of the impact of mental ill health on loneliness and individuals ability to overcome loneliness. ONS’s study also found that young people who reported low life satisfaction, happiness and worthwhile scores and high anxiety scores were more likely to report higher levels of loneliness. The Children’s Society has found strong links between loneliness and well-being. Their recently published report also found that relationships are the most important factor in children’s well-being.

Women and Equalities

Public Sector: Equal Pay

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps he is taking to tackle gender pay disparity in the public sector.

Victoria Atkins: We introduced ground-breaking regulations in 2017 requiring large employers, including over 1,600 public bodies, to publish their gender pay gaps annually. The rate at which the gender pay gap will narrow is dependent on a large number of complex factors, but this Government is working hard to close the gap as soon as possible. In order to support employers to address their gender pay differences, we have published evidence-based guidance on practical actions they can take to close the gap, alongside help to diagnose the causes of their gaps and develop effective action plans. We have been working with Government departments and representative bodies to understand the underlying causes of the gender pay gap in different public sector workforces, and to consider what measures will have a positive impact. We have also engaged directly with employers in the public sector, through events and interactive webinars. We will continue to build the evidence base in order to support employers to continue to take the right action.